Bleach: Tensa Zangetsu's True Power
by DiscoStu09
Summary: Being Rewritten - New version is called Resolve to Fight and Protect!
1. Inner Battle

**Disclaimer: I Don't Own Bleach**

**Summary: Ichigo and the others have just returned from Soul Society after saving Rukia, Aizen's intentions have been revealed and now Ichigo goes to Urahara for more training in developing his Shinigami powers. Will Ichigo be able to avoid the Final Getsuga Tensho or is he destined to lose his powers? How far can Ishida and Chad's power develop? What is the true nature of Inoue's power? What is the secret of Isshin's past? Was Masaki truly just human? What are the Visored's intentions apart from defeating Aizen? What are Ginjo's and the Fullbringers goals? What about the remaining Quincy? What is the Royal Guards true purpose in the Royal Realm? What about the mystery behind the Spirit King? What is the true source of the Reiatsu filled Karakura town? **

**As for the main pairing, well I plan for it to be Ichigo X Rukia but pairings aren't my focus so I don't know about it yet.**

**Also if anyone can give me a site where I can translate English into Japanese; e.g. Moon Fang Heaven Piercer = Getsuga Tensho.**

**Chapter 1 – Inner Battle.**

Ichigo was sitting on Urahara's flying carpet with his legs crossed as they headed in the direction of his house after dropping off Chad, Ishida, and Inoue home. Ichigo had looked over at Urahara and Yoruichi conversing quietly, his thoughts going back to when Aizen stopped his blade with a finger, Ichigo couldn't help but clench his fists tightly and scowl heavily at the memory. Even though he was pretty banged up at that point after his fight with Byakuya, it didn't help him get over it; all he could picture was the shocked feeling at seeing the finger stop his blade followed by extreme pain in his hip. There was also that fact that his Inner Hollow had taken over during his fight with Byakuya, having absolutely no control over his own movements, not being able to stop his Hollow from causing destruction scared the hell out of him.

He could see that they were close to his house now before he looked back at Urahara, the man that hadn't told them the truth about what to expect at Soul Society and for putting the Hōgyoku inside of Rukia. He was the only person that Ichigo could go to now in order to receive more training, he was adept at Shikai, Bankai and Shunpo but he needed to get much stronger in case Aizen decided to attack any of his family or friends and he knew that the only reason he was able to defeat Byakuya was because of his Hollow. That fact really pissed him off, if it wasn't for his Hollow he would have died and in his mind he won unfairly as he wasn't in control of his actions. More disturbingly, after he had recovered from his injuries, he could no longer feel Zangetsu's presence and vowed to talk to Urahara to discover what was wrong.

The carpet pulled up to a stop just at the front of his house, as Urahara turned to him to say goodbye, Ichigo spoke up, "Hey, Urahara-san?"

Urahara just looked at him curiously as did everyone else on the carpet before letting out an "Hmm."

"Can you teach me more?"

Urahara looked surprised at the question before asking him, "Why do you ask? You successfully saved Rukia and now you can go back to your human life, go to school and hang out with your friends."

Ichigo looked at him fiercely before telling him, "A finger that is how Aizen stopped me, with just a finger. What am I supposed to do if he attacks anymore of my friends, family or even Karakura Town?"

Urahara looked at him at him sadly from behind his fan hiding his expression from Ichigo knowing that he was a big part responsible for Ichigo being involved in all of this.

"Ok Kurosaki-san, it's the least I can do for you, come by the shop tomorrow after school and we will begin."

Ichigo shook his head, "No, I have no intention of going to school, my grades are already high, and I can afford to miss a bit of school. I'll get my dad to inform the school of my leave of absence, I just need to find a reason for him to do that."

"Tell him that you are an apprentice to the great Urahara Kisuke at the Urahara Shop." Urahara said cheerfully with a big grin on his face while Ichigo just sweat dropped.

"Sure I guess that will work, see you tomorrow. There is one final thing to ask, ever since I have recovered from my injuries after my fight with Byakuya and Aizen, I haven't been able to sense Zangetsu do you know why that is?"

Urahara frowned, a theory coming to his mind, "I think I may know what the problem is and I'll have a solution tomorrow."

Ichigo nodded before jumping off the carpet which sped off into the night as he entered his house to get a good night's rest and to see his family for the first time in weeks.

"Well that was certainly unexpected wasn't it Kisuke?" Yoruichi asked as they both sat on top of the Urahara Shop not too long after dropping Ichigo off.

"He is full of surprises, I never expected him to develop as fast as he had and also the determination to keep on training when he could easily go back to his normal life and let Soul Society deal with Aizen."

"He is definitely Isshin's boy."

"Yes he is, and I think we both know what that means don't we? He won't hesitate to use _that _technique to defeat Aizen if it came down to it."

"Hmm."

"At least this time I will be prepared for it and will have a much quicker way of helping Ichigo than when I helped Isshin."

The next morning, Ichigo had a nice reunion with his sisters, the usual Isshin trying to beat him up and he retaliating before telling his dad that he now had an apprenticeship at Urahara's, which to his surprise his father agreed instantly. Isshin called the school and told them Ichigo will be missing a few months but promised than when he came back he would be up to date on all the work he would miss. With that out the way, Ichigo headed to Urahara's shop and when he arrived he was greeted by Jinta and Ururu who were both at the front of the shop sweeping. They told him to head straight to the underground training room and Ichigo climbed down the huge stair case and to his surprise when he landed on the ground, he saw Yoruichi and Tessai alongside Urahara.

Seeing the surprised look on his face, Urahara informed him, "They are going to assist with your training; I am in charge of your Zanjutsu and your Reiatsu control. Tessai will teach you Kidō both Bakudō and Hadō and Yoruichi will improve your Shunpo and Hakuda skills."

Ichigo nodded in understanding before asking what they were going to begin with and Urahara asked him, "Have you used your Shinigami badge yet?"

Ichigo looked startled and answered honestly, "No I havent, I guess it will be the first time in a few moments."

"Wait a second Kurosaki-san" Urahara said, "Could I have a look at it please?"

"Sure" Ichigo said confused as to why Urahara was interested in it and chucked him the badge. Urahara began fiddling with it for a few minutes and he seemed to be mumbling something before chucking it back to Ichigo with a pout on his face.

"Looks like you no longer my beautiful awesome practical cane anymore."

"Obviously dumbass, that is the point of the badge." Ichigo retorted and pressed the badge into his chest and entered his Shingami form whilst Tessai took his body and put it in a safe place.

"So what are we doing first?" Ichigo asked his 'teacher' to which Urahara just smiled at him before throwing him a black glove.

After catching it Ichigo questioned, "What is this for?"

Urahara's expression turned serious.

"This will temporarily seal away your inner Hollow."

Ichigo's eyes widen as he looked at the glove in awe before putting it on his right hand and he could feel the dark presence that had been in the back of his mind disappear. Sighing in relief, he took Zangetsu off his back and prepared for battle. Instead of a formal katana that most Shinigami have Zangetsu looked more like an oversized elegant cleaver, he had no tsuba and no proper hilt; but cloth-wrapped tang. The sword was 1.75 meters tall and had a black blade with a silver edge.

"So what first?"

"First, we are going to seal your Shikai into a katana and to do that we are going to have to improve your control of your Reiatsu."

"Huh?"

"Don't you remember what I told you when you were learning Bankai?" Yoruichi asked him with a grin on her face seeing Ichigo's confused look.

"I told you that your Zanpakutō is a full-time released form type because of your vast but uncontrollable Reiatsu."

"Yeah so? I'll say the same thing I asked Ishida. If my Reiatsu is high, shouldn't it remain on its maximum output?"

Now Urahara lost the grin on his face that he had since Ichigo got here becoming serious, "No, in fact it is a very bad thing. Why do you think Captains and Vice-Captains have to have limiters placed on them that conceal 80% of their Reiatsu? Do you know how much damage that your leaking Reiatsu is causing to the souls of humans and the fact that it draws many Hollows to this town, the town that you wish to protect? If you learnt how to suppress your Reiatsu, then that would mean less Hollows coming to Karakura and that means less danger for your friends and family."

Ichigo was stunned by the amount of danger he was causing just because of his Reiatsu control ignorance and he knew no matter how much he hated this type of training like that stupid sphere he would have to do it.

"Because you're Shikai is in its full release, when you go back into your body you are still radiating the same amount of Reiatsu as when you were in your Shinigami form. So that first step is for Zangetsu to stop giving you his power and to seal himself."

"How do I do that? Usually he appears to me or pulls me to him."

Urahara sighed; he was more ignorant than he thought.

"We will use a method known as Jinzen."

"Jinzen?"

"This method is the only way to carry on a proper conversation with your Zanpakutō. First you have to place your sword over your lap and take a meditative pose and then force your mind to become one with Zangetsu."

Ichigo sat down in a meditative pose that he had learnt as a kid when he learnt Karate, before placing Zangetsu across his lap and tried to join minds. Seeing this, Tessai walked behind Ichigo, taking a swipe at the back of Ichigo's head, however Ichigo sensed the attack and was just able to avoid it.

"Why did you dodge?" Tessai boomed.

Ichigo just looked at him in confusion before stating the obvious, "Are you crazy! If I don't dodge then it's going to hurt!"

"The fact that you dodged my fist means you aren't putting your soul into your sword! Now concentrate, picture your inner world, and connect your soul with your Zanpakutō."

Ichigo got back into his stance and began connecting with Zangetsu while Urahara, Yoruichi, and Tessai watched on patiently.

While Ichigo was beginning his training at Urahara's, the rest of the nakama were attending school and all three of them of course noticed Ichigo missing. As they sat in class for the start of the day when their teacher Misato Ochi entered the room but after she read out Ichigo's name is what caught their attention.

"Ah yes, Kurosaki Isshin rang up earlier and said that Ichigo had just started an apprentice ship at Urahara's shop and will be back in a few months. Such a shame, Ichigo could do much better than that dump."

While watching Ichigo, Urahara suddenly sneezed all over his fan much to Yoruichi's amusement.

"_Dam, whoever is talking about me just ruined my favorite fan, I will have my revenge."_

Chad, Inoue and Ishida all nodded to each before Ishida stood up first and announced that he had some family business, moments later Chad said that he to go to a new job he had just started and Inoue followed saying she wasn't feeling well. Miss Ochi let them go with no problem, as they were high rated students who could afford to miss a day but of course, Keigo tried to follow and told the teacher his grandmother was sick and he had to go take care of her but Miss Ochi decline saying she didn't believe him.

The three of them soon headed towards Urahara's shop curious as to why Ichigo was there and not at school, but all of them had a sneaking suspicion.

"Do you two think that he has gone there for training?" Chad asked figuring he would be the one to ask the question.

"That is the most logical outcome." Ishida said.

"But why? We saved Kuchiki-san and Kurosaki-kun is already strong enough to take on any Hollows that attack."

"Probably because of Aizen, Kurosaki must be training in preparation for another fight with him or he is just worried that if Aizen attacks Karakura he won't be strong enough." Ishida concluded while bitterly thinking, _"And I can't do anything since I can't gather Reishi."_

"Why would he attack Karakura?" Inoue asked him confused why a Shinigami would want to attack this town, what would be the gain?

Ishida just shrugged but Chad was one person who didn't talk much he more communicated through body language and he could see that Ishida's power loss was really bothering him even if he wasn't coming out and saying it.

"Is there any way you can recover your powers?" Chad asked but Ishida just looked downcast.

"No, when I used The Letzt Stil, I gathered a huge increase of Reishi gathering abilities which helped me absorb a huge amount of energy. However, I could only use it for a short time as no human body is capable of handling that immense power and my body started burning up, so my body forcibly sealed itself off from all Reiatsu as self-preservation. While I can still sense people's Reiatsu and see Hollow and Shinigami and I can't use my powers as my body will no longer let me."

"So your body is so damaged that you can't use your powers. I'm sorry Ishida-kun I know how much you love about your heritage." Inoue told him sympathetically.

"If it's just because of that, couldn't Inoue heal it?" Chad questioned.

Ishida looked at him in surprise having not thought of that and looked at Inoue trying to conceal his hope but failing.

"Can you Inoue-san?"

Inoue smiled brightly at him while rubbing the back of head,

"I guess I can give it a try, I'll need you to lie down so I guess we will wait until we get to Urahara-sans unless you want to lie in the middle of the street."

"Uh no that's ok Inoue-san; I can wait until we get to Urahara's."

Ichigo awoke to a familiar place, sitting on the side of a tall building, the sky a deep blue with no clouds in, he stood up always feeling a little bit strange to be able to stand on the sides of buildings.

_"__So you've come, Ichigo."_

Ichigo spun around to see Zangetsu in his usual perch on a flagpole.

"Old-man Zangetsu, you're back, I haven't been able to feel your presence recently."

_"__I have been recently battling your Inner Hollow for control and for a while he had the upper hand until that glove that Urahara gave you weakened him which allowed me to take back control."_

"How did it weaken him?"

_"__Some kid spells, Bakudō to be more precise, have him trapped for now, but it will only hold him back for so long."_

"How much time?"

_"__That all depends on you, Ichigo."_

"What do you mean?" Ichigo asked confused as Zangetsu jumped off his flagpole and walked towards him.

_"__Ichigo what happens when a Shinigami loses their resolve?"_

Ichigo just remained silent as Zangetsu looked at him sternly and fiercely said, _"__Their blade dulls, their Reiatsu weakens, their reflex's slow down and before you know it they're dead! But it's not like that for you Ichigo, if your resolve weakens, if you begin to fear your own power the more power he gets and the more I weaken!"_

"Afraid... of... my... power? What do you mean, why would I fear you?"

Zangetsu shook his head, _"Not my power Ichigo, your Hollow's power is your power."_

"I'm not a Hollow, it's not my power."

_"__It is your power Ichigo, both he and I am your power, we work together as Shinigami and Zanpakutō but for you to be able to use your Hollow powers require a different path."_

"A Different path?"

_"__Cast away your fear Ichigo, fight your Hollow and show him who is in charge, that is your only option or be devoured; only you can fight him!"_

Ichigo looked solemn at Zangetsu's words.

_"__You have a week maybe two to get strong enough to fight your Hollow, the way you are right now, full of doubt, fear, you won't last long against him. Then what will you do Ichigo? Are you just going to let your hollow self take control and kill everyone that you care for? One final warning Ichigo, do not go Bankai until you decide to battle your Hollow, when in Bankai your Reiatsu rises and this will break the hold on your Hollow."_

'_To get strong enough.'" _He thought before remembering that he had gone to Urahara's for training and the reason why he was here now.

"Hey old man, I need to seal you."

_"__Seal me? You mean into a measly katana?"_

"Ah, yeah I guess so."

_"__Why should I? You asked me to fight together with you; it would be impractical for me to be sealed."_

"You should know why I got my powers in the first place; it's not to fight, to destroy or to rule but to protect the ones I care about and having you in a full time release state is hurting people. Our Reiatsu together is far too strong for normal life, the only time we should be is during battle." Ichigo said to him expecting an angry retort back but was surprised to see Zangetsu smiling at him.

_"__Very well Ichigo, I was wondering when you would finally realise the damage you were doing."_

"What? Why didn't you tell me then?"

_"__Some things you have to work out on your own Ichigo besides you never told me to seal myself."_

'_Bastard is mocking me.'_ Ichigo growled to himself as his face settled into its natural scowl at the smug look on Zangetsu's face.

"What's the command to activate Shikai?"

Zangetsu frowned at him, _"__You already know it Ichigo."_

"I do?" Ichigo questioned to which Zangetsu nodded.

_"__Remember back to all the battles we have fought together and you will know."_

"My, my, isn't this a surprise." Urahara said cheerfully as Ishida, Inoue and Chad descended from the stairs into the training ground and all looked curiously at the meditating Ichigo.

Chad walked over to Urahara and co, while Ishida lay on the ground and Inoue stood above him and commanded;

"Sōten Kisshun, I Reject."

A half-oval barrier surrounded Ishida as he prayed for Inoue to be successful so he could protect Karakura town alongside his nakama.

"What is she doing?" Yoruichi questioned Chad as they watched Inoue heal Ishida.

"She is going to try and restore Ishida's powers."

"Wow! That is amazing, such abilities!" Urahara cheered impressed at Inoue's abilities and it wasn't too long when Inoue was finished and a very happy Ishida was able to summon the bow he used before going to Soul Society.

"Thank you very much Inoue-san." He said before bowing deeply causing Inoue to blush in embarrassment while Chad smiled at the sight before glancing over at his best friend.

"What is Ichigo doing?"

"He is communicating with his Zanpakutō in order to seal it so he can begin controlling his own Reiatsu."

"Controlling his Reiatsu? Kurosaki?" Ishida said in astonishment, Reiatsu control was the last thing he would ever expect Ichigo to ever practise in.

"Doesn't Kurosaki-kun hate this type of training, how did you get him to do it?"

"Kisuke just pointed out some hard facts to him and he went along with it."

"What made Ichigo decide to train instead continue his normal life?"

"He is worried about Aizen." Urahara told them.

"Why? Isn't that Soul Society's problem, what would Aizen want with Karakura town?" Ishida questioned as Urahara turned serious and told them softly;

"I have my suspicions; I just seriously hope I am wrong."

"What are your suspicions?" Chad questioned.

Urahara just smiled at him before pointing at the awakening Ichigo, "I'll tell you if I am right."

Ichigo stood up, and then focused his Reiatsu into Zangetsu before there was small flash before everyone sweat dropped at the sight including Ichigo. The Katana in his hand was an almost exact replica of the one he had when Rukia lent him her powers, the same handle, shape and to his embarrassment the size. The major difference was that the top half of the blade was black and it had a silver edge, it was the katana version of his Shikai.

He could hear laughter from behind him, he turned to look and saw Yoruichi with a big smirk on her face, Tessai was able to keep a straight face, and Ishida, Inoue, and Chad were just giving him pitying looks. Urahara's reaction pissed Ichigo off though; he was rolling on the ground laughing his head off as a tick mark appeared on Ichigo's forehead.

"HEY YOU BASTARD WHAT IS SO FUNNY!"

"Sorry... sorry...it's just ... I've never... seen a... Shikai... be sealed in such... a large sword. The only ...real difference... is that... it now as... a hilt."

While Urahara continued you laughing much to Ichigo's frustration, Yoruichi decided to intervene.

"Ichigo, can you release your Shikai."

Ichigo stopped glaring at Urahara to glance at Yoruichi before he looked at his Katana and closed his eyes and allowed memories to flow through his mind.

... _If you really were stronger than I was, what would have been the point of running away when you would have caught up to me anyways. However, if you are just a weakling, I can simply kick your ass and then move forward promptly_...

... _If I am dodging, I won't let him cut me... If I am protecting someone, I won't let her die... If I am attacking, I will cut you_...

... _It's meaningless to just live; it's meaningless to just fight. I want to win_...

..._If only to stop that rain, I will lend you any strength_...

..._ 'Our pride', you said. Therefore, that pride you're saying to be so precious is somehow connected with killing Rukia. Is it? Then I should stomp on it as you said. 'Cause that's why I obtained this Bankai'_...

... _That's my line. Thank you, Rukia. Thanks to you, it seems the rain has finally stopped_...

"Yeah." Ichigo told her before lifting his katana straight into the air; he began leaking out a large amount of Reiatsu and commanded, "Stop the Rain, Zangetsu!"

Ichigo swung his katana towards the ground, however as it came down the blade had changed, for it was now covered in a cloth before it unravelling to reveal Zangetsu in all his glory.

After marvelling at his work for a few moments, Ichigo resealed it before realization sunk in that Ishida, Chad, and Inoue were here instead of school.

"Hey what are you guys doing here?"

Ishida scoffed at him, "We could ask you that same question Kurosaki."

"I have to get stronger, strong enough to protect everyone from Aizen."

"Can I receive training from you as well Urahara-san?" Chad asked him which earned him a surprising glance from the man.

"Sado-kun?" Inoue said but Chad ignored her and continued, "Back at Soul Society I couldn't even touch a Captain, I need to get a lot stronger."

"Hmm, if anything Sado-san, your major weakness is speed is that correct."

At Chad's nod Urahara continued, "So it might be best if Yoruichi trains you."

Yoruichi nodded with a smirk, "Don't worry Sado, I'll make you as fast as Ichigo's Bankai when I'm done with you."

Yoruichi took Chad to another part of the training field, while Urahara asked both Ishida and Inoue if they were here for training,

"No, only one person can help me advance further." Ishida sighed.

Moments before he was about to depart, Urahara spoke up, "Ishida-san, there is something I have been meaning to give you, a little side project I have been working on for the last 50 years."

He handed him two pairs of gloves, both were white with a blue Quincy cross on each one.

Ishida inspected the gloves before questioning, "What are they for?"

"One pair is for you, and another is for the person that is going to train you, the purpose that these gloves is to alter the Reishi that you gather and when your use your abilities, it won't kill but purify them and send them to Soul Society."

Ishida looked at him with wide eyes, as his glasses fell down his nose, "Are you serious?"

"Yep!" Urahara said cheerfully, "It was a pain to do and it took a long time but I eventually created a seal that was able to alter the Reishi, now you won't have to worry about Soul Society breathing down your neck."

"Thank you Urahara-san!"

"It's no problem; I just wish that somebody was able to invent this seal before the incident."

Ishida soon departed after many thanks that made Urahara's chest puff out after each one, before Urahara turned to Inoue, "What about you Inoue-san?"

"Umm... sorry but I have to meet Tatsuki-chan later and I have homework to do, I have to keep my grades up or my Aunt will send me less money."

"Very well Inoue-san."

Inoue bid her farewells before leaving while Ichigo looked on before asking Urahara, "What was the point of Ishida and Inoue coming if they just left?"

"Who knows? But I think its best that Inoue-san keeps her abilities low profile." Urahara told him as he turned his attention to him only to be hit in the face by a glove realizing that it was the glove that he had given Ichigo not too long ago.

"Ahh Kurosaki-san what are you doing? This glove was the only thing holding your Hollow back."

"Yeah, I know, I am going to fight for control now."

"Why now? Why not get stronger and then fight him."

"No, Zangetsu says the only thing that is weakening me is my resolve, I'm going to fight him now and I am going to win, that's all there is to it."

Urahara sighed before nodding in acceptance,

"Wait a second before you fight Kurosaki-san."

Ichigo nodded as Urahara quickly exited the training ground and it was five minutes later holding a large container much to Ichigo's curiosity.

"Ok Kurosaki-san, please stab Zangetsu through this container."

"Why?"

"It will drain you all of your Reiatsu to the point of unconsciousness, from there you will awake in your inner world where you can fight your Hollow."

"Why do I have to do this?"

"It's more for our sake actually."

"What do you mean?"

"What do you think happens to your body when you are in your fighting your Hollow?"

Ichigo just looked confused, "Lie on the ground peacefully until I win?"

Urahara sweat dropped, "No, you begin to turn into a Hollow, if you don't beat your hollow in time, you will become one. So by draining your Reiatsu before the battle, it will be easier to fight against."

"But I need my Reiatsu to fight my Hollow."

Urahara smirked at him, "You will be fighting in your inner world like I have said, and you don't run out of Reiatsu there. How can you run out of Reiatsu when you're fighting inside of your soul? I would have thought even you would have known that."

"Shut up you bastard! I hope my Hollow hurts you for that comment."

Urahara chuckled as Ichigo stabbed Zangetsu through the container and felt his Reiatsu being sucked out at a rapid pace. It took ten minutes however for Ichigo's reserves to be depleted as Zangetsu resealed himself as Ichigo finally lost consciousness. Urahara smiled at the full container of Ichigo's Reiatsu, before moving it and placing it in a barrier so it wasn't damaged in the fight, as it would play a vital role later on.

"Tessai, would you please seal Ichigo in place, it should be difficult for him to break out of a very high level Bakudō."

"Bakudō 63 - Sajo Sabaku!"

A yellow energy rope that looks like thick chains appeared out of mid air and wrapped tightly around Ichigo's torso.

"Bakudō 99 – Kin!"

Spiritual fabric wrapped around Ichigo's entire body on top of the Bakudō 63 and pinned his body firmly on the ground with spiritual fabric stacked to the ground around Ichigo with several iron shafts in an "X" shape.

"Bakudō 75 – Gochūtekkan!"

Five incredibly tall and thick pillars, which were connected to each other by chains, were summoned in mid air above Ichigo before landing right on top of him. One on each leg, one on each shoulder blade, and one smack in the middle of his back.

"Excellent work Tessai as usual that should hold him."

Tessai nodded breathing slightly heavy but couldn't help ask, "Are you sure?"

"Yeah, if Ichigo hadn't depleted his Reiatsu beforehand then he would break out but it shouldn't be a problem now. Could you inform Yoruichi and Chad to stay clear of this area until we are done just in case?"

Tessai nodded before heading in the direction that Yoruichi was as Urahara looked back at Ichigo who's Reiatsu had spiked but it wasn't his normal Reiatsu it was much darker.

Ichigo's eyes awoken with him standing back in a place that he had been not too long ago but this time he saw a white figure crouching on the spot where Zangetsu usually perched. The figure lifted his head and Ichigo recognized him to be the one that he had fought back in Soul Society during his battle with Kenpachi.

His white look alike had a big wicked grin on his face, **"Yo Ichigo, it's been a while."**

"So you're my Inner Hollow, huh? I knew that there was something strange about you when we first met back at Soul Society."

**"Ha, well aren't you clever, but I have to say Ichigo that you have surprised me a lot lately."**

"What do you mean?"

**"Well first of all, instead of going to school and trying to get back to a **_**normal **_**life, making your blade dull like I expected you to. Instead ya went straight to that shop keepers and asked for more training, didn't know you had it in ya Ichigo and second of all, ya actually learned how to seal Zangetsu."** He said indicating to the sealed blade on his back, which Ichigo noticed.

"How long have you known how to seal Zangetsu?"

**"The same amount as you Ichigo, I learn what you learn, why do you think I am so impressed, I never even thought about sealing him. The final thing that has impressed me Ichigo is that I sense no fear in you right now, just last night I could feel your fear of me and that you had a chance thanks to that dam glove to stay in control peacefully for at least another week. Yet here you are, disposing of that glove only a few minutes of putting it on, I didn't realize that you were so eager to fight me, I guess that chat with Zangetsu really helped you prepare for this fight."**

"Zangetsu said that you and he were fighting for control but he didn't elaborate on it. How did you get strong enough to overthrow him?"

Hichigo tilted his head to the right as he stared at Ichigo before smirking, **"Zangetsu and I have always been one and the same. Both Zangetsu and I are a part of your spiritual power, and I was a part of Zangetsu! We all share the same body, and whenever the 'dominant' person changes, the outer appearance changes. When one is dominated by 'life', one is flesh. When one is dominated by 'death', one becomes bones. It's the same reasoning. My power expanded, and so the ruling power went to me. In addition, this way, Zangetsu became a part of me instead. The more you try to use Zangetsu's power, the easier it is for me to control your soul! That is why you are here Ichigo, to fight me so that Zangetsu can regain control, I am stronger than Zangetsu however if you are able to defeat me then you gain control over my power."**

"I see that also means that Zangetsu will become the dominant one won't he."

**"Yeah that is right, you will have beaten me in battle proving that you are the stronger one and after that I would have to battle against yours and Zangetsu's power which would be an impossible task."**

Ichigo narrowed his eyes at him, "You have been surprisingly forth coming with information."

Hichigo laughter hard at him before he taunted him by saying;

**"Of course I am Ichigo, after all this is going to be the last time you are going to have a chance to ask questions before I devour you."**

"You wish." Ichigo told him before drawing his katana, as did Hichigo who immediately jumped into the air, **"NOW ICHIGO! LETS FIND OUT WHO IS STRONGER!"**

Hichigo swung his blade downwards aiming for Ichigo's head but Ichigo stopped it in its tracks with his before pushing back, the force making Hichigo land on the side of the building with a grin on his face. Ichigo used Shunpo to appear behind Hichigo and swung his blade to the right side of Hichigo's neck but was calmly parried away before he swung his sword at Ichigo's left shoulder but Ichigo just managed to get a desperate swipe to deflect it. Ichigo leapt back to put some distance between them so he could think of a plan when all of a sudden, Hichigo was directly in front of him aiming for his head but he ducked under the swing and slashed at Hichigo's legs. Unfortunately, for him, Hichigo jumped over him and landed behind him before attacking his unguarded back but Ichigo used Shunpo to dodge and appeared a few meters away from Hichigo.

**"Not bad Ichigo!"**

"Shut up, I don't need compliments from you." Ichigo snapped at him, panting slightly, he found it hard to follow his movements; there were a few times there where he was just able to defend.

**"Don't be so grumpy and tense Ichigo, let's have some fun."**

Ichigo just scowled at him, he hated that smirk on his face, he didn't smile or smirk often it wasn't natural on his face and this bastard was flaunting it. He raised his katana in the air and let a burst of Reiatsu drawing a raised eyebrow from Hichigo before he shouted out, "Stop the Rain, Zangetsu!"

Ichigo swung his sword down creating an explosion as the force of the Reiatsu that was swung created a crater in the building.

**"So getting serious Ichigo, fine then I guess there is no point in dragging this out."** Hichigo said as he copied Ichigo's dance but instead of saying the same release phase as Ichigo he said, **"Let the Rain Fall, Zangetsu!"**

Ichigo's eyes widen at the phrase as he saw Hichigo holding a reverse color Zangetsu, so instead of having a black blade with a silver edge it was a silver blade with a black edge. In addition, the cloth on Hichigo's was black instead of white but that didn't matter to him, for there was something else that piqued Ichigo's curiosity.

"Why was your command phrase different to mine?"

**"I am your Hollow powers and Zangetsu is you Shinigami powers, your Shinigami powers are at your strongest when you are confident, happy, and all of those other positive emotions. Those emotions create clear skies and sunlight in your inner world which Zangetsu loves and thus able to lend you more of his power. That is why your release is 'Stop the Rain' as Zangetsu hates the rain and would do anything to make it stop, however I am the opposite of Zangetsu. When it rains, that means that you're feeling negative emotions such as anger, sorrow, despair and others like that, the rain causes Zangetsu's power to weaken and mine to grow and that is why my release is called that."**

"Who are you? How did you become part of Zangetsu, why is it that no other Shinigami has an inner Hollow but I do? Is it because of what happened in the shattered shaft?"

Hichigo lost the smirk that was on his face as his face grew serious and Ichigo wondered if he maybe hit a sore spot with his questions.

**"You are not like any other Shinigami Ichigo, Zangetsu has always been with you since the moment you were born, and you had Reiatsu the day you were born. In the first nine years of your life, your Reiatsu grew as did Zangetsu's power until the day your mother died."**

Ichigo flinched at the mention of his mother's death, even after hearing the projection of her thoughts before she died still couldn't remove the guilt in his heart.

**"That day Ichigo was the day that I was born."**

Ichigo's eyes widened at that.

**"Shock's you doesn't it Ichigo? I became all that guilt, sorrow, despair, and anger that you were feeling deep inside, if it wasn't for your humanity, you would have turned into a Hollow then as Zangetsu's power had almost drowned in your sorrow. Soon however you were able to start feeling those other positive emotions thanks to your father and sisters, you're urged to protect them and your friends strengthened Zangetsu. Do you understand yet Ichigo? I am not the opposite of Zangetsu, I am your opposite, all of the dark emotions in your soul and now we are both fighting for the right of control over Zangetsu and our soul."**

Ichigo just looked at him speechless; his eyes widened in shock as the revelation of his Hollow powers were born. Hichigo vanished before reappearing on Ichigo's right, whose instincts snapped him out of his stupor and he was able to block the attack from Hichigo. Both were locked onto a tight sword lock, both trying to overpower the other before Ichigo was forced to break it and jumped backwards. As Ichigo prepared for his next attack, Hichigo began spinning his Zangetsu in a circle with the cloth as he did back in Soul Society but this time Ichigo was ready for it. His eyes glowed blue for a second as he watched the incoming sword that Hichigo had thrown towards him, holding his Zangetsu in his right hand he swung it across his body and batted the incoming sword away. Hichigo, after a split second of surprise pulled his Zangetsu back towards him but Ichigo already anticipated this as the edge of Zangetsu glowed blue before he swung it up diagonally to the right.

"Getsuga Tenshō!"

The shape of blue Reiatsu that exploded out of Zangetsu was a crescent moon as it tore up the building underneath as shot towards a surprised Hichigo. However he was able to grab onto Zangetsu quick enough to use it to block the attack as it threatened to overwhelm him but just as he was about to gain the upper hand, something behind him caught his attention. To his shock, there was Ichigo, who had used Shunpo when he was busy holding back the Getsuga to get behind him; he was holding Zangetsu with two hands with them raised above his head before he swung it down.

"Getsuga Tenshō!"

This blast hit him straight in the back, knocking him completely off balance which allowed the first one to him, causing a big explosion of Reiatsu. Ichigo was panting after that attack before taking a deep breath to regain his composure; he smirked at the explosion and muttered;

"How did you like that, you cocky bastard?"

A figure suddenly shot out of the smoke and Ichigo saw that it was Hichigo, whose top half of clothes had big rips in it, he had bruising all over his upper body and blood coming down his right eye but he still had a giant smirk on his face.

**"That was a nice move Ichigo; here try mine, Getsuga Tenshō!"**

He swung his Zangetsu down as, white mixed with red Reiatsu burst out of the sword and like Ichigo's it shot in the shape of a crescent moon. Ichigo just was able to Shunpo out of the way as the Getsuga crashed into the building as smoke and rubble filled the air but to Ichigo's surprise, Hichigo's Zangetsu came flying out of the smoke straight at him. He wasn't able to dodge out of the way completely, as Zangetsu's sliced through the top of his left shoulder making blood spurt out and Ichigo flinch in pain. Zangetsu flew back to Hichigo, who walked out of the smoke before placing Zangetsu on his right shoulder,

**"Like that surprise Ichigo?"**

"I've had better."

**"Tsk, what are we doing Ichigo? We both know that no one is going to win just by using Shikai, I like a good fight but we are both just wasting time fighting with Shikai, let's go all out."**

Hichigo pointed Zangetsu directly out in front of him, Zangetsu in his right hand while his left was on his right bicep and Zangetsu's cloth was wrapped around his right arm. Ichigo realizing what he was doing copied the stance as they both surrounded by their Reiatsu, Ichigo's blue and Hichigo's white and red.

**"BANKAI!"** They both yelled before there Reiatsu exploded and as dust settled, Ichigo robe was replaced with a long-sleeved, ankle-length black coat, from his ankles to his waist he was still wearing the same piece of clothing. The inside of the coat was red while the coat ends were white and ragged. Zangetsu had become a daitō with a black blade, the cross guard has four prongs bent out to form the shape of the manji and instead of the cloth his Shikai form had, a short length of chain with a broken link at the end dangles from the base of the hilt. Hichigo was in the same get up but again the color was reversed, where there was black on Ichigo there was white on Hichigo, the only difference was that instead of having red in the inside of Hichigo's robe it was black.

**"Now this is better isn't it?"**

"I'd feel a lot better with this sword in your chest."

Hichigo let out a maniacal laugh, **"What's wrong Ichigo? I get the feeling you don't like me."**

"Shut up" Ichigo said before charging him much faster than earlier thanks to the increased speed of his Bankai as he swung his sword downward with two hands to slice Hichigo's head. However, Hichigo raised his sword to block it with only one hand on with a smirk on his face as Ichigo's face formed a scowl but a bright light caught his attention. In Hichigo's left hand a ball of white Reiatsu with a red edge was forming, Ichigo's face changed to realization followed by horror as Hichigo's smirk widened.

**"Cero!"**

That small ball of Reiatsu changed into a big beam which Ichigo didn't have the time to dodge and was caught in the beam which blasted into a skyscraper. Ichigo got up painfully, blood coming down the left side of his forehead while part of his coat on his left shoulder was blasted off. Ichigo glared at Hichigo who was chuckling at the look on his face, "You can use Cero?"

**"Obviously."**

Ichigo just continue to glare at him which was starting to get on his nerves;

**"What? It's not my fault that you don't know any other moves except for Getsuga. Maybe instead of rushing in to fighting me you should have learnt some Kido in preparation."**

"What good would it have done, didn't you say that you learn what I learn? Any Kido that I would've learned, you would have as well."

**"You really are a dumbass Ichigo, anything that you learn from Zangetsu I learn, outside of that whatever you learn are yours and yours alone, I am a Hollow I can't learn Kido."** Hichigo mocked him before firing another Cero, which Ichigo dodged with Shunpo successfully however Hichigo just kept firing Cero one after another but Ichigo was able to dodge all of them.

Hichigo decided that he had gotten bored of standing there and just firing Cero, so he charged towards Ichigo intending to cut him in half, but Ichigo flashed stepped behind him and swung at Hichigo's unprotected back. However, Hichigo had anticipated that Ichigo would do this and had his left hand's index finger pointing at Ichigo underneath his right arm preparing a Cero.

Ichigo swing connected with the Cero as he struggled to overpower it until he heard the sound of another Cero being prepared. His eyes widened as he saw Hichigo now standing behind him, a Cero preparing in his hand.

**"Payback is a bitch Ichigo!"**

He fired the Cero as Ichigo quickly unleashed a Getsuga that cut through the Cero he was blocking before using Shunpo up into the air to dodge the Cero however a voice whispered behind him;

**"Too slow"**

Ichigo spun around only for Hichigo's Tensa Zangetsu slashed through his right peck and shoulder and then he swung again this time at Ichigo's head. Ichigo, through the pain was able to block the attack but knew that Hichigo had all of the momentum, so he kicked him with his right foot into his left hip unknowingly that he instinctively focused a large amount of Reiatsu into his foot. Hichigo coughed up blood as Ichigo's foot sank into his hip before he was sent flying into a building while Ichigo gathered his composure in mid air and prepared for Hichigo's counter attack.

Hichigo stood up in the crater that he had made from the impact holding his left hip glaring slightly at Ichigo, he didn't know that he kicked that hard, he knew that he couldn't and that really pissed him off. He flashed stepped up a few meters off where Ichigo was who was looking at him apprehensively but he just grinned at him;

**"That was a nice kick Ichigo; I have to admit that not even I can kick that hard."**

Ichigo smirked at him; "Admitting your weak huh? I've yet to show you what I am truly capable of."

Hichigo's face grew serious before smirking lightly, which stunned Ichigo, usually they were taunting smirks, or maniacal but this time Ichigo saw nothing but pure confidence. It made him feel uneasy.

**"Yes you have"** Seeing Ichigo's confused expression he told him, **"You are giving it all you have got Ichigo, I'll admit that with Zangetsu sealed and in his Shikai form that we are pretty even, but in Bankai there is a big gap between us. You don't know how to use Bankai Ichigo, watch, you will not be able to hit me again."**

"We'll see you cocky bastard!"

Ichigo charged at him and swiped at his chest but was parried, then attempted to cut his head but once again, it was blocked. Neck, shoulders, legs, arms, chest, back, head, no matter where he attacked, Hichigo's Tensa Zangetsu would always block it and Hichigo would not lose that confident grin on his face. It made Ichigo's blood boil but it made no difference, no matter how fast his attacks were or how powerful he couldn't break Hichigo's defence. Eventually after several minutes of continuous attacks and parries, Ichigo finally put some distance between them; Hichigo was looking smug while Ichigo was panting heavily.

**"Like I told you Ichigo, you don't know how to use Bankai!"**

"Shut up!" Ichigo snapped at him before gathering Reiatsu into Tensa Zangetsu as black Reiatsu with a red edge surrounded the blade before he slashed it towards Hichigo, "Getsuga Tenshō!"

The black and red Getsuga shot towards Hichigo who actually looked gleeful before he batted the attack away with one hand much to Ichigo's shock. He shunpoed directly in front of Ichigo and aimed a cut downward for his head but Ichigo raised his to meet it but that was what Hichigo wanted before he place a hand on the edge of his blade and whispered;

**"Getsuga Tenshō!"**

Ichigo was blown up in an explosion of white and red Reiatsu that also destroyed the building that was a not far behind Ichigo. Hichigo smirked when he saw Ichigo rise above from the rubble moments later, a deep slash on his stomach blood dripping down from it, the front of his coat blasted off.

**"I told you, didn't I? Have you forgotten? I was the first one to use Getsuga Tenshō in Bankai. All you did was watch my battle, and then try to imitate and failed miserably. To use the Kuroi Getsuga Tenshō requires a certain ingredients that you haven't got; do you know what they are?"**

Ichigo glared at Hichigo, his Getsuga Tenshō was useless now, he couldn't beat him in a clash with swords, unable to overwhelm him with Reiatsu, and Hichigo could use Cero. The only thing that had worked since they went Bankai was that kick he got on him, but even he was surprised by the power behind it. He didn't have a clue on how he did it. All of a sudden a drop of rain fell onto his nose, before he looked up and the clear blue sky were now filled with dark clouds, noticing what Ichigo was looking at Hichigo spoke up;

**"You know what this means now don't you Ichigo?"**

Ichigo look fiercely at him before holding Tensa Zangetsu out in front of him as he prepared for Hichigo's next attack, Hichigo just sighed and began spinning Tensa Zangetsu on his finger. He was now bored with this fight, Ichigo had nothing left up in his sleeve, and it was time to take his rightful place on the throne.

**"Ichigo, what's the difference between a king and his horse? I don't mean kiddy shit like "One's a person and one's an animal" or "One has two legs and one has four." If their form, ability, and power were the same, why is it that one becomes the king and controls the battle, while the other becomes the horse and carries the king? There's only one answer. Instinct! In order for identical beings to get stronger and gain the power they need to become king, they must search for more battles and power! They thirst for battle, and live to mercilessly, crush, shred, and slice their enemies! Deep, deep within our body lies the honed instinct to kill, and slaughter our enemies! However, you don't have that! You don't have those pure, base instincts! You fight with your brain. You try to defeat your enemies with logic, and it doesn't work! You're trying to cut them with a sheathed sword! That's why you're weaker than me, Ichigo!"**

Using Shunpo, he appeared on Ichigo's left and went to cut off his arm but Ichigo was able to spin around in time to block it but Hichigo applied more force onto Ichigo's blade and it snapped in half. Ichigo could only look in shock at his broken sword before he felt a sharp pain pierce his chest; taking his attention away from his sword to the sword that had punctured his chest.

**"I'm not gonna have it, Ichigo. I don't know about Zangetsu, but I refuse to carry a king who's weaker than I am and be cut to ribbons with him. If you're weaker than me, then I'll destroy you, and take your crown for myself."**

Ichigo's sword slipped out of his hand as rain poured rapidly as the remaining tall buildings began to deteriorate as water began to rise from the bottom of the inner world. Hichigo smirked in triumph before ripping the blade out of Ichigo's chest as he fell into the abyss below seeing Ichigo fall towards the abyss brought much joy to him.

**"I AM THE KING!"**

He hit the water hard as he began to sink to the bottom, or was it just because the water was rising that it made him think he was sinking, he didn't know. He couldn't breathe, he couldn't move an inch of his body, everything was going dark; he had failed.

_"__What is the problem Ichigo? Why have you fallen so?"_

Ichigo's eyes shot open at the voice, it was familiar, but he couldn't remember to whom it belonged.

_"__Are you just going to give up and let him control your body? He will hurt your family, your friends and you are just going to lie there?"_

"What else can I do, none of my attacks worked, he had all the answers."

_"__That is where you are wrong Ichigo."_

"What do you mean?"

_"__You haven't used your power yet."_

"My power?"

_"__Yes Ichigo your power, this whole fight you have only been using the little Zangetsu could give you. Both you and your Hollow have each been given 50% of Zangetsu's power, but unlike you, he has used his own alongside."_

"You're wrong, I have been giving it everything I have got, but I can't win."

_"__Explain to me then, why your Reiatsu is only at vice captain level then?"_

"My Reiatsu has been the same as always. If anything it's because I'm only using 50% of Zangetsu's power."

_"__FOOL!"_ The voice roared startling him, whatever patience or calmness in the voice was no gone, it had become cold and chilling.

_"__Before you started fighting alongside Zangetsu, your Reiatsu level was low captain, so why has your Reiatsu level this whole fight been at vice captain level? I'll tell you why, when you partnered up with Zangetsu, you became reliant on him; you could no longer do anything without him holding your hand. You were afraid to use your own power so not to anger Zangetsu, don't you remember how much stronger you became during Bankai training? All of your power then was all you! Why do you think your Hollow wanted to wait to battle you hoping that your fear would grow and give him more power because he knew that your power along with Zangetsu's surpassed his! Get up and fight Ichigo! Fight with the amount of power Zangetsu has given you and add it to your own!"_

Ichigo's eyes glowed slightly blue but it still wasn't enough to pull him out of the abyss yet.

_"__What are you going to do Ichigo? Yuzu, Karin is going to die, your father is going to die, Rukia is going to die and your friends are going to die, ALL BECAUSE YOU REFUSE TO GET UP!"_

Ichigo's eyes were now glowing with Reiatsu, one more push and the dam will break.

_"__IS THIS WHAT YOUR MOTHER DIED FOR, A LITTLE CRYBABY WHO REFUSES TO GET BACK UP JUST BECAUSE HE LOSING! SHE LEFT BEHIND HER DAUGHTERS FOR YOU TO PROTECT AND YOUR JUST GOING TO LIE THERE AND LET HER DOWN WHEN SHE GAVE YOU THE TWO MOST IMPORTANT THINGS IN HER LIFE. HER DAUGHTERS AND HER LIFE! HOW COULD YOU EVER LOOK AT HER AGAIN IF YOU DON'T GET UP AND WIN NOW ICHIGO!"_

That did it, the dam broke, and blue Reiatsu burst from his body and rose out of the water into the sky shocking a celebrating Hichigo who could only look on in shock. All of a sudden the water stopped rising and a small speck of sunlight breached the clouds as the Reiatsu disappeared and Hichigo's eyes widen at the sight of Ichigo standing in mid air. Hichigo noticed that his eyes were glowing blue showing that Ichigo was full of nothing but resolve, his Tensa Zangetsu full restored and that his wounds had stopped bleeding which he found interesting.

"Yo, you didn't think it was over yet did you."

Hichigo smirked at him, **"Still not giving up Ichigo, fine I guess I'll have to beat it into you some more."**

"Come at me."

Hichigo scowled at the confidence Ichigo suddenly had before charging towards him slashing at his shoulder but found his blade blocked fiercely. Before whenever Ichigo blocked him it felt liked being blocked by a dull sword, that if he applied enough force he could cut right through it which he did eventually. Now however, it felt like trying to cut through an impenetrable wall, if anything it felt like his blade was the one that was breaking. Ichigo smirked at him sensing his astonishment before going on the offensive, the blue Reiatsu in his eyes as he started applying force on Hichigo's blade, which forced Hichigo to break away before his sword snapped.

Deciding to keep a distance he began preparing for a Cero while Ichigo just raised his right arm into the air and bending it so his elbow was the highest point and level with his head while his blade was pointing diagonally across his body facing down. Hichigo had no idea what that stance was but fired the most powerful Cero that he could and as it headed towards Ichigo who refused to move before it collided with him. As the explosion refuge cleared away, Ichigo stood remaining in the exact same stance without any new damage much to Hichigo's shock, that impenetrable wall feeling from before wasn't too far off.

**"How?"** Hichigo asked but Ichigo just ignored him, raised Tensa Zangetsu into the air, and gathered his Reiatsu making the edge of Tensa shine blue.

"Let's test your Getsuga then!"

Hichigo stuck his sword out to the right and gathered his Reiatsu and moments later the blade was surrounded by white and red Reiatsu. Both Ichigo and Hichigo stared each other down for a moment, as the clouds slowly started disappearing as the clear sky returned. Ichigo slashed his sword down while Hichigo swung his sword across his body and both shouted, **"Getsuga Tenshō!"**

Both blue and white/red Reiatsu clashed, both battled for dominance before the white/red Reiatsu enveloped the blue and blew up much to Hichigo's joy.

**"See, you still not have surpassed me Ichigo, my Getsuga is still stronger!"**

"Idiot" A voice whispered behind him but before he could turn around in time, a hand grabbed the arm that held Hichigo's Tensa Zangetsu before it was sliced off. Ichigo dropped the arm as it fell to the ground below, as the water had vanished and the streets had reappeared, as the buildings were growing tall again under the clear blue sky.

**"AHHHHHHHH!"** Hichigo screamed in pain at the loss of his arm before he pointed his left arm at Ichigo and prepared a Cero but Ichigo pierced his chest with Tensa Zangetsu right where his heart would be if he were human.

Hichigo could only look at the blade piercing him before he fell into resignation that he had lost the battle as his clothes turned black before he started disappearing.

**"Shit. Looks like your instincts, and your desire to fight, aren't completely gone. Guess there's no way around it. You got me. I have to recognize you as the king, for now, but don't you ever forget! Don't forget that either one of us can become the king or the horse. If you ever give me the chance, I'll drag you down and crush your skull; and one last warning, if you really want to control my power, make sure you don't get yourself killed before I come back!"**

After that final warning by Hichigo he disappeared right before Ichigo's eyes as he sighed in relief, finally taking out his Hollow was a big relief for him. He looked around and noticed that his inner world was almost as it was before the fight started but just as he was about to leave, he heard clapping from behind him. He turned around to find a person, who looked roughly about his age standing on the perch of a building, in a hooded black garment similar to Zangetsu's but this one had a hood covering his face.

"Who are you?" Ichigo questioned, praying that this wasn't someone else he had to fight.

_"__I guess you have never had the chance to know, since you only recently achieved Bankai then immediately had to deal with your Hollow, so I guess I can give you the benefit of the doubt."_

Ichigo's eyes widened as he recognized the voice, it was the voice that had spoken to him when he was sinking into the abyss during his battle.

"You were the one that was speaking to me earlier aren't you?"

_"__Yes I was, I am quite pleased by your performance afterwards, but you have a long way to go if you want to protect your friends and family from the likes of Aizen."_

"Thanks for the compliment and advice but you still haven't told me who you are!"

The young man's hand reached up to his hood before yanking it back revealing a young man with long black hair that almost reached his shoulders, even though Ichigo sucked at reading faces, he could recognize it.

"Zangetsu? Is that you Zangetsu?"

_"__No, what is the name of your Bankai?"_He said before a familiar black daitō appeared in his right hand.

_"__I am Tensa Zangetsu"_

**Like it Review it. Don't like it then don't read it.**

**Writing a fighting scene is hard work hopefully it was good enough for everyone reading it.**

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**Rukia is back hell yeah, and look at her with the short hair, she looks so much better and she has made Vice Captain of the 13th Division, and best of all she has given Ichigo his Shinigami powers back.**

**Seeing Ichigo's reaction at losing his Fullbring was amazing, how Ishida bowed his head as he felt Ichigo's pain and then for the rain to fall was fitting. Then getting stabbed and thinking his dad was against him to was heart wrenching but them bang Rukia = Shinigami Powers**

**Ginjo is going to be pretty pissed; I think it's clear now that he is the Lost Substitute Shinigami and he is trying to get his powers back but Ichigo got his first MUAHAHAHA!**


	2. Ichigo vs Ulquiorra

**Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach**

**Chapter 2 – Ichigo vs. Ulquiorra**

Urahara watched as the tied up Ichigo began struggling to break out of the Bakudo, but didn't even make a dent before after a few more minutes, Urahara watched with interest as Hollow Ichigo's Reiatsu rise as he activated his Shikai but even with the rise of Reiatsu he was still unable to break the Bakudo.

"Looks like you were right, he can't break out."

Urahara just smiled cheekily at him before sitting himself on a rock as he watched Hollow Ichigo try to break free from the Bakudo. Five minutes later Urahara felt another shift in Hollow Ichigo's Reiatsu as a large burst of black and red Reiatsu exploded from Ichigo, however to Urahara's astonishment all of the Bakudo that was holding him shattered. Standing before him was Ichigo with three quarters of his mask covering his face, and his left arm was completely hollowfied along with a hole in the middle of his chest surrounded by white armour. He also noticed that in his right hand he held a black daitō indicating that Ichigo had gone Bankai in his inner world but Urahara was still stunned by the amount of Reiatsu that was being emitted considering that he had been completely drained beforehand.

He frowned for a moment; he had never met anyone with this amount of Reiatsu, there was much more to Ichigo than he knew, and there as one thing that he hated and that was not knowing the answer to something. He would get answers later but right now he had a powerfully berserk Ichigo after him as he pulled his Zanpakutō out of his cane and said;

"Awaken Benihime"

His Zanpakutō took the form a sleek, medium-sized sword; the grip had a gentle decorative bend that ended at a crimson tassel dangling from the pommel. Instead of a cross guard, there was a U-shaped decoration covering the first three or four inches of blade, with a flower petal design just as it met a red string wrapping. The string is wrapped thrice around the hilt, with a three-loop bow on one side and a folded paper decoration on the other. Benihime's blade was straight and slim, though somewhat short, with the tip ending in a slanted razor-like edge instead of being tapered to a point.

Hollow Ichigo charged towards him with high speed, but Urahara could follow the movements no problem as he dodged all of the attacks effortlessly. As Hichigo swung at Urahara's chest, but he easily dodged it by Shunpoing behind Hichigo however during the Shunpo he slashed Hichigo's right shoulder deeply in order to restrict his swings. Unfortunately for him, a white substance instantly covered up the wound making Urahara mentally swear as he prepared for Hichigo's next attack. Hichigo's sword became surrounded with black and red Reiatsu before firing the Getsuga at Urahara who just looked on calmly before pointing Benihime at the incoming wave;

"Chikasumi no Tate"

A crimson hexagonal-shaped barrier appeared in front of Urahara blocking him from the impact of the Getsuga as it tried to overpower his shield;

"Shred Benihime"

Small crimson bullets shot from the shield and ripped apart the Getsuga Tensho only to see Hichigo swinging his sword into the shield. A crack formed in the shield much to Urahara's shock before he was force to Shunpo away releasing the shield before holding his hound out and chanted;

"Bakudo 61: Rikujōkōrō"

Six thin, wide beams of light that slam into Hichigo's midsection, holding him in place before Urahara quickly leaped into the air and fell straight towards Hichigo and commanded;

"Shibari, Benihime"

The Reiatsu generated by Benihime condensed into the form of a tangible blood red net, generated from the blade length and appeared elongated and somewhat narrow. With a simple slashing motion from Benihime it was thrown over the struggling Hichigo, the net further bound and restricted Hichigo by constricting him. Urahara then stabbed the net with the tip of Benihime and whispered;

"Hiasobi, Benihime, Juzutsunagi"

Orbs of fire were created along the outside length of the net, which explode like linked land-mines in a domino formation leading toward Hichigo. When the orbs came into direct contact with him it created a tremendously large and devastating explosion.

Urahara looked on at the explosion hoping that he hadn't gone too far but to his surprise he saw Hichigo unharmed no doubt to more instant regeneration but now the white substance had had grown around his legs as well.

After more dodging, blocking and hitting with his own attacks, Urahara was starting to get a little bit tired as the Hollow was constantly pressing with his attacks, it didn't have any brains but it was strong and quick. Soon Ichigo had almost become a full Hollow; his mask resembles a human skull, complete with a jaw joint and rounded forehead and had dark-red stripes on the left side. It looked like a white humanoid lizard with three-toed feet and a tail with black marks all over its noticeably more muscular body. It possessed long orange hair and reptilian eyes seen through the eyeholes on its full mask along with a long tail.

Urahara was now contemplating now to go in for a killing blow when Hichigo pointed to claw like fingers at him and began forming a cero. He prepared to counter with his Nake, Benihime when his left shoulder broke and blood spurted out, Hichigo's eyes widen before he screamed in pain and exploded in a mixture of blue, black and red Reiatsu. After the explosion subsided, all of the Hollow form fell apart leaving Ichigo standing there with a mask on his face in his Bankai which was in tatters along with his wounds from the fight with his Inner Hollow. Soon his mask broke away before he fell on to the ground just as Yoruichi and Chad arrived on the scene to see what the commotion was about.

"Ichigo!" Chad shouted out in concern at his friend's state and was about to rush over to him but Urahara's arm cut him off.

"Urahara-san?"

"He is still in his Bankai state which means that his life isn't in jeopardy, if he loses his Bankai state means that he is dying but since this isn't the case, he must still be in his Inner World."

"You're Tensa Zangetsu?" Ichigo asked the younger looking version of Zangetsu.

"_Yes I am, when you battled Zangetsu and subdued him you were given the right to activate Bankai but I am the one that decides to give your Bankai power."_ Tensa explained to him while twirling his sword on his finger similar to what his Hollow was doing earlier.

"Give my Bankai power? Haven't I been using Bankai this whole time?" Ichigo questioned but Tensa just shook his head and told him;

"_No, the power that you have been using is just your Reiatsu being condensed which drastically increased your speed and power. When you activated Bankai, I never got the chance to introduce myself to you as your Hollow also learned Bankai and used his new power up to try and overthrow Zangetsu."_

"So my Hollow doesn't know you either?"

"_He does now because you know, but before then no he didn't."_

"So are you going to lend me your power, are we going to fight together?"

Tensa just smirked at him before shaking his head, _"Of course not Ichigo, I have no intention of just giving you my power."_

Ichigo's eyes widen and asked him;

"Why not? Zangetsu scolded me because I didn't use his power!"

"_I thought I told you, I am not Zangetsu; I am Tensa Zangetsu! I'm not like Zangetsu, I am not going to hold your hand when you fight, and you have to prove to me Ichigo that you deserve to wield my power."_

"How do I prove it to you? Do I have to fight and defeat you?" He asked him while tensing his sword preparing for another fight. Tensa chuckled before his sword vanished before him and told Ichigo;

"_If we do fight Ichigo, how do you think you would be able to fight me in the condition that you are in? Just because you don't run out of Reiatsu here doesn't mean that your invincible, every injury you take here reflects onto your outside body. You die here and you die, it's as simple as that Ichigo. Also do you remember what had happened at Soul Society with your fight with Byakuya? Your body couldn't even handle the stress of your condensed Reiatsu, what do you think is going to happen if you add my power to it Ichigo?"_

Ichigo looked down at that, he was right about what happened the last time he used Bankai which was one of the reasons why he had been thinking to only use it as a last resort.

"_That is your first step Ichigo, to be able to use Bankai without the pressure crushing your bones, that will be your first step to prove that you are worthy of wielding me. Now be gone Ichigo and get stronger!"_

Ichigo woke up a few hours later in a bed, with bandages wrapped around his chest and his sealed katana lying against a wall across the room from him. The door slid open and he saw Tessai walk in and seeing that Ichigo was awake he told him;

"Ah you are awake then Kurosaki-san the manager is waiting for you in the underground training room and don't worry, the next exercise you will be doing won't be taxing on your body."

Ichigo nodded before painfully getting up, picking up his oversized katana and heading towards the training ground and when he got there he could see Yoruichi lecturing a worn out Chad. Urahara was standing on a boulder overseeing the training before he noticed Ichigo at the corner of his eye.

"Kurosaki-san you are up early than I expected"

"Did your plan work?" Ichigo asked straight to the point.

"Mostly, it wasn't until you activated your Bankai that there was some problems but your Hollow was nothing but a berserker so it wasn't hard dodging and blocking its attacks."

"I see, so what are we doing now?"

"We are going to shrink that sword of yours"

"How do we do that?" He asked glancing at his enormous katana. Urahara lifted a big metal cubed block that was lying next to him before telling Ichigo to slash through it as hard as he could while in its sealed state. Ichigo withdrew his sword before slashing down at the upright block as hard as he could but only managed to cut it half way.

"Now when you are done shrinking your sword, you are going to cut it again." Ichigo nodded before Urahara told him how to do this.

"First get into the Jinzen position, then I want you to picture your katana just how it is and then focus all of your Reiatsu to surround the blade."

Ichigo once again got into that Jinzen position and began picturing his katana and then focus his Reiatsu to surround it just as Urahara spoke up again;

"Now I want you to pour all of your Reiatsu into your katana, do not stop until it's all in, no matter how long it takes."

He began pouring all of that Reiatsu into his sword but no matter how much he put in there was always some Reiatsu to replace it and finally after a few hours he was able to hold all of his Reiatsu in without any leaking out.

"Once that is done, force your sword to take a thinner shape, it all comes down to your will, it has to suppress your Reiatsu." Is what Urahara told him thirty minutes after he had began this exercise as he got sick of just waiting for him to finish. Once finished his katana's blade was glowing blue and he tried to will it to a smaller blade but as he tried his focus on condensing it he lost control of containing it and his sword exploded in Reiatsu.

"Looks like that is going to take you a while huh Kurosaki-san" Urahara said in amusement while Ichigo just glared at him before taking a look at his surroundings and saw some of the ground had been destroyed by his Reiatsu. He sighed before getting back in Jinzen and tried again.

It had been 1pm in the afternoon when he started this exercise and by 6pm he was...

The sword shrunk and shrunk until it was the size of his Bankai blade now all he had to do was holding it there for how long he didn't know when he suddenly felt a sharp pain in his chest, like he was punched. Opening his eyes and glaring at the shopkeeper before realising that he had lost focus and that there was no explosion of Reiatsu and he glanced at his sword to see it was a regular size katana now. Seeing his surprised look Urahara quickly explained;

"When you got it down to a regular size, I quickly put a seal onto so it would keep it there. Now I want you to cut that metal again."

Setting the metal cube down in front of Ichigo, he once again attempted to slice through it and this time he cut through the whole thing with ease, like it was butter.

"Before when you had that big sword, you had no Reiatsu pumping through it, so when you attacked Hollows you struggled to cut through their hierro and it was at times you had instinctively poured Reiatsu through your sword you cut them."

"I see, so we can just keep this seal over me and everything's good right?"

"Wrong, because it's not you that is controlling the suppressed Reiatsu it could damage your body so for a few hours each day, I will take the seal off and you will manually have to learn to control it. We will do that every day until you can walk, eat, sleep or fight without losing control of it. Now go home for tonight, you have a big day tomorrow, part of the training I have for you is going to be a real struggle."

"Thanks Urahara-san"

After receiving a punch from his father for being late which he gladly returned, pounding his father into the ground before enjoying a peaceful meal that Yuzu cooked him, he went upstairs to bed. However before he could get changed and settle in there was a knock on his door.

"Ichi-nii, I am coming in"

Ichigo looked at his sister Karin enter his room with a solemn look on her face and she asked him;

"I want you to tell me Ichi-nii, I know you are a Shinigami"

Whatever Ichigo was expecting to talk about her, this was certainly last on his list.

"What are you talking about Karin? I am not a Shin-"

"Don't lie to me!" She told him angrily, "I have seen those monsters and I saw you in a black outfit with a giant sword that day we went to mum's grave. I also remember the night when we were attacked, at first I thought that it was a hit and run like dad and Yuzu but it soon all came back to me. Then there was the time with Kanonji when I helped him defeat one of those monsters and he told me that you would be proud."

Ichigo just looked at Karin in shock having not realised what she had been dealing with before looking down slightly, he felt ashamed that he hadn't figured out what she was going through. He explained to her how Rukia had saved his life by giving him her Shinigami powers and then told her about his duties as a Shinigami. He also explained what happened that day at their mum's grave and how she was killed by a Hollow and the memory of her thoughts before she died. He then told her about Rukia been taking captive to Soul Society, and his adventures in Soul Society before he finished up with what he had done that day.

There was one thing that had changed Karin immensely after their mum's death and that she was no longer an affectionate person, keeping people at an arm's length just like him so he was quite surprised when she hugged him tightly.

"I want to help you Ichi-nii"

"No, you are to young Karin, your only eleven years old." He told her sternly finally breaking the hug but she was as stubborn as him.

"But Ichi-"

"No, I'll take you to Urahara's tomorrow and you can see me fight in a spar before school just so you can see how dangerous this is."

Karin nodded and left the room as Ichigo finally went to bed hoping for a decent sleep, so he set his alarm to 7 in the morning.

At 7am on the dot, Ichigo's alarm went off.

"IIICCCHHHIIIGGGOOO!" Kon yelled as he jumped on Ichigo's chest and began hitting his face with his paws while yelling at him;

"Get up Ichigo, today's a great day to go pick out some babes! Make sure you take me along as the ladies will be like 'Oh Kurosaki-kun, you carry around a plushie that is so adorable I just want to rub it against my chest' isn't that exciting Ichigo?"

Ichigo grabbed him before throwing him into the closet door causing him to groan in pain as Ichigo rubbed the sleep out of his eye before getting up and grabbing his gear and went to the bathroom for a shower.

After telling his dad that he was taking Karin with him this morning and she would go to school later which Isshin agreed since Ichigo didn't do this type of things for his sister.

Urahara was quite surprised to see Karin with him but after telling him why she was here he understood and agreed to go out in a spar with him. Karin watched as Ichigo sparred, neither really going all out but to see her brother take damage she began to worry, they soon however finished up neither had more than a few small cuts and bruises. Ichigo told her that was only a light spar, while Urahara lifted his hand out facing a big boulder and said;

"Hadō 31: Shakkahō"

He fired a ball of red energy towards the boulder and completely destroyed it much to the shock of Karin;

"Something like this is child's play"

"Do you see what type of power you have to fight against Karin, unlike what you just saw with Urahara-san and I, the enemy will try to kill you."

Karin just looked at the ground while Ichigo put his hand on top of her head much to her surprise;

"You are my little sister Karin, I will always protect you along with Yuzu but when you are my age and you still want to, then I will help you, but we will be using a longer more risk-free route than my high risk quick route."

"Thanks Ichi-nii" She beamed at him before Ichigo took her to school and then returned, taking out a few Hollows on the way.

Ichigo wasn't surprised to see Chad there again working on his speed with Yoruichi before he asked Urahara what they were doing today.

"Well, I was planning on teaching you how to sense other people's Reiatsu, I had a long route plan but when you talked about your high risk quick route got me thinking. I can teach you in a hurry, but it will be hard and painful or we can take that slow and painless way."

"The quick way, I don't have time to take the long routes." Ichigo told him with a smirk.

"Ok, then say 'seal release' and then go Bankai" Urahara told him seriously while drawing his sword from the cane and releasing it.

Ichigo pulled out his sword and said, "Seal Release!"

His Reiatsu burst forth and all of a sudden his sword was back into its giant state, before he focused his Reiatsu and yelled out;

"BANKAI!"

Once the dust cleared, it revealed him with his Bankai clothes and his Tensa Zangetsu;

"Why did you want me to go Bankai?"

"Because, it is your highest point in power apart from your Hollowfication, but we will get to that later, you are at your highest point in Reiatsu, so if you can tune out from sensing your own in Bankai, you will be able to sense it easily in your sealed state."

"So how do I do this then?"

"Just don't blink" Was the reply and when Ichigo was about to ask what he meant, all of a sudden his eyes were slashed causing to yell in pain. His face screwed up with pain, his free hand trying to rub the blood away unsuccessfully as it kept trickling down his face before he shouted at Urahara;

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?"

"Teaching you how to sense Reiatsu, if we went the long way I would have had you sit down and try to sense the people around you which would have taken a long time for you to get past sensing your own because it's so big. So by blinding you, I will force you to have to sense Reiatsu." He told the blinded boy, simply like it was obvious.

"So give me a blindfold, don't cut my eyes!"

"You could just take that blindfold off when you were in real danger, how would that help. I told you beforehand that it was going to be painful. Now are we ready to begin?"

"Fine you bastard, bring it on!" Ichigo growled at him before firing a Getsuga Tensho in the direction of the voice, but Urahara calmly shunpoed out of the way before appearing behind Ichigo kicking him in the left side of his waist. Ichigo had no idea if his Getsuga hit until he felt a foot in his waist indicating that he hadn't and was sent flying along the ground; he quickly got back up but suddenly his right cheeked was punched and was sent back into the ground. He got back up only to be kicked in the stomach and punched again only this time it was in his left cheek until he swung in the direction the punch came from only for a sharp pain to come from his left shoulder as a gash appeared on it.

"Dammit" He snarled to himself, standing back up after dropping to one knee from the pain;

"Looks like your really struggling there Kurosaki-san"

"_Calm down, I can't panic; I have to push through the pain and focus!"_ He thought to himself as he took a deep breath and prepared for Urahara's next attack. He focused on his Reiatsu, he could see it clearly before he tried to push further past it, but it was like trying to run through water. He could see nothing but darkness before a glint of red popped up to the right, bringing Tensa up in that direction he glad to feel it connect with another blade. Seconds later the force on his sword was gone before a shiver ran down his back and he shunpoed a few meters to the left to avoid the attack at his back before taking a swing in the direction but came up with nothing but air. Five minutes later, Ichigo was starting to clearly see attacks that came within a meter of him which didn't give him much time to dodge but it was a start before his right radius snapped forcing him to drop his Bankai.

Urahara looked on as he saw Ichigo's Bankai drop before sighing, he had to admit that Ichigo made more progress than he thought he would but his Bankai was a concern. He sensed Tessai's Reiatsu enter the shop along with the guest he asked him to bring as they descended down the stairs.

"Ah! Inoue-san I am glad you came" He told her confused face cheerfully before she looked over at Ichigo and saw he was on one knee, leaning on Zangetsu, cuts all over his body and blood coming from his eyes.

"Kurosaki-kun!" She shouted out with worry surprising Ichigo;

"Inoue? What are you doing here?" He asked painfully.

"I'll be there in a second to heal you!" She cried as she prepared to run over to him but Urahara grabbed her shoulder causing her to give him a confused look.

"Heal his injuries and Reiatsu but do not heal his eyes." He told her seriously;

"Why?"

"It's his training, he needs to be completely blinded for this exercise, and it is the only way to make him stronger."

Before Inoue could protest, Ichigo spoke up, "Please Inoue, listen to what he says."

"Kurosaki-kun" She said softly.

"This is the only way I can get stronger, please Inoue."

After being healed up except for his eyes, he went back into his Bankai and began fighting Urahara as Inoue was forced to watch on as she would have to heal whenever Ichigo's Bankai collapsed.

It was five in the afternoon when Inoue fully healed Ichigo for the last time, including his eyes which he took with great pleasure to see again. After hours and hours of constantly fight blind in Bankai and being healed he was now able to hold it for 10 minutes without any strain and could accurately sense people's Reiatsu in Urahara's training ground and store. He spent another hour manually forcing his Reiatsu into its smaller shape with some success, being able to walk around with it for an hour before having his Reiatsu forcibly sealed in the sword by Urahara's seal.

On his way home, he found that he was able to sense Reiatsu much better with the sealed sword as he didn't have his own giant Reiatsu blocking his senses. He could feel, Chad's depleted Reiatsu from all of his training, he could feel Ishida who appeared to be at the hospital and Inoue was back at home. However thanks to his improved senses he felt a burst of Reiatsu on the other side of the city before a much larger Reiatsu appeared in the same area. Since his battle with his Hollow he could tell a significant difference between a Shinigami and a Hollow Reiatsu and the Reiatsu he was sensing was the largest from a Hollow with the exception of his Inner Hollow. It felt familiar to him though, until he felt a shiver go through his right shoulder which helped connected the dots of the last Hollow that had stabbed him in the shoulder in the real world; Grand Fisher.

Ichigo quickly released the seal forcing his katana to go back to its large size before immediately going Bankai in order to get there as fast as he could before someone else got it. Using Shunpo across the roof tops it only took him a few minutes to reach is location and was surprised at what he saw, the Grand Fisher he had known didn't look the same. His entire mask was left unbroken and the upper half sat on his forehead, he also had fur all over his body and was much larger. His Hollow hole was also higher than his previous appearance and much to Ichigo's confusion; he carried a large Zanpakutō on his back.

Ichigo landed on the road and quickly took a look at his surroundings; he was quite pleased to see no people or cars driving in the area. Grand Fisher turned around to see Ichigo before letting out a big laugh;

"Kurosaki Ichigo, It's time for us to finish our battle; this time I will kill you."

"Unless you run away again you son of a bitch!" Ichigo snarled at him as he tightened his grip on Tensa Zangetsu's hilt, seeing his sword Grand Fisher once again let out a big laugh.

"What can you do with that puny Zanpakutō, your previous one was much stronger, and how can you defeat this Zanpakutō, boy?" He mocked before pulling off the large sword off his back.

"The size of a Zanpakutō shows the size of the wielder's Reiatsu, mine surpasses yours by a long way boy!"

He swung he blade downwards towards Ichigo and yelled;

"TIME TO DIE, KUROSAKI ICHIGO!"

As the sword got closer, Ichigo merely raised his left hand and caught it much to Grand Fisher's shock and horror before he pulled it away and swung it again butt his time as hard as he could.

"THAT WAS A FLUKE, THIS TIME I'LL PUT EVERYTHING INTO IT!"

Ichigo still didn't look up at the sword keeping his gaze firmly on the ground, but Tensa Zangetsu was covered in blue Reiatsu and Ichigo calmly swung it up to meet the sword letting it meet Grand Fisher's. As the blades meet, Ichigo let out a wordless Getsuga that completely sliced through Grand Fisher's sword and went onwards through his arm making him give out a large screech in pain.

He finally pushed through the pain to glare down at Ichigo but to see him disappeared only to see him just above him with his sword raised in the air.

"This is for my mum! Getsuga Tensho!"

Once again he swung his blade down and let out a wave of Blue Reiatsu split cut through his mask along with the rest of his body as his body dissolved into Reishi. He landed back on the ground, releasing his Bankai and resealing his sword along with adding Urahara's seal and headed home with his heart a little lighter unaware of the two people watching him.

On his way home however he was intercepted by a man in wearing the same clothes he wore to his High School, he had brown eyes and jaw-length blonde hair with a straight cut. What caught Ichigo's attention was the fact that he was walking in mid air and that he was carrying a Zanpakutō.

"So I finally found you Kurosaki Ichigo, do you know rude it was for you not to be at school today when I wanted to meet you."

"Who the hell are you?"

"I mean you should have to do my homework or something, can you believe that we are given a test the first day back after holiday?"

"I asked who the hell you are."

"Jeez what a pain in the ass... Do you really want to know so badly what I am? Ok then..."

He then lifted his hand to his forehead soon yellow Reiatsu started forming and Ichigo was shocked to see a Hollow mask. It strongly resembled a pharaoh's mask, with a short, flowing hood hanging down the back of it.

"See? Check it out. What's this?"

"A Hollow mask?!"

"That's right. A Zanpakutō and a Hollow mask. You understand, don't ya? I am a Shinigami that has stepped into Hollow territory. I am a Visored. I am your kin. Come to our side, Ichigo. You do not belong on this side."

Ichigo stared at him before turning around and heading home in a different direction much to Shinji's annoyance.

"Hey, damn it! Where ya goin', Ichigo? I am not finished talkin' yet!"

"I'll pass, I am going home."

"I said I am not finished yet!"

"Whatever it is, I don't want to hear it!" Ichigo said annoyed and turned around to face him, "I don't care what kind of organization your so-called 'Visored' is, I have no desire to become friends with you all! I am a Shinigami! I am not your friend!"

He turned around and left leaving a stunned Shinji behind before he sighed and reached out for his mobile phone and rang a number.

"Hello, hello? It's Hirako. Is this Sarugaki-san's cell phone? Sorry. Wrong number."

The person on the other end started shouting at him real loud forcing him to hold the phone away from his ear.

"I couldn't help it. Ya don't have to shout in my ear! It's just a matter of time. Let's be patient."

_Back at the location where Grand Fisher died..._

"Bankai was a little bit overkill wasn't it?" Isshin claimed after watching the fight from the shadows.

"Reminds me of you back in the day, you two are a lot alike." Urahara teased him much to Isshin's irritation.

"We are nothing alike!"

"So how does it feel to be a Shinigami again after 20 years?"

"It's all right. Thanks for the special Gigai, I didn't want Ichigo to sense my Reiatsu yet, I'll reveal it to him when the time is right."

"Speaking Ichigo, I have two questions. The first, is your conscious now clear with Ichigo killing that hollow?"

"I never really had a grudge against that Hollow, it was its nature, can't really blame it. The only one to blame for Masaki's death is me for not being able to protect her that is all. I let Ichigo be the one to kill him to get some type of relief as the idiot is full of guilt about it."

Urahara nodded before asking Isshin seriously;

"Your son defeated his Inner Hollow, but before he fought it, I drained him of all of his Reiatsu in order to make it easier for us to defend against the Hollow but also in preparation for if Ichigo ever uses that Technique. However when the Hollow went Bankai it was able to break through Bakudō's 63, 75 and 99 even after being drained, its Reiatsu was at a captains level, I fear what it would have been like if I hadn't drained Ichigo's Reiatsu from the start. He has way more than Reiatsu than you had in your prime, there is no way that he should have this much Reiatsu but you know why don't you?"

Isshin sighed, before he looked at Urahara gravely and told;

"Yeah, I know why, you see, Masaki was..."

A week had passed since Ichigo had begun training with Urahara and he had improved rapidly, his Bankai no longer put any strain on his body, he could hold the sealed sword naturally. Which Urahara told him was the most basic Reiatsu control skill and that it took him way too long to master. He also could sense everyone with Reiatsu in Karakura town if he focused hard enough. Chad had improved as well, though not as much as Ichigo, his reflexes improved along with his speed, but he still didn't have the speed to keep up with a Shunpo.

He had grown closer to Zangetsu; he discovered that Zangetsu wanted more trees, plants and grass added in their Inner World and that he also enjoyed seeing the sunset and sunrise. So Ichigo, one night, manifested Zangetsu into the real world and both watched a sunset together, making their bond stronger. He didn't have much luck with Tensa Zangetsu however, who gave him a congratulations on being able to use his Bankai without straining himself anymore but wouldn't tell him anything else he had to do in order to gain his power.

He hadn't seen Inoue since that day when she came to heal him but knew that she still attended school which was fine to Ichigo as he knew that she wasn't a fighter. He hadn't seen Ishida since he got his powers back but he knew that Ishida would be training hard in order to help him protect this town and to surpass him.

It was now a Monday afternoon and Ichigo was currently at home having a day off, he needed to give his body a rest but more importantly, he needed a mental break. He had been training and fighting every day, he was only fifteen years old; he had to do other things to. So right now he was currently lying on his bed reading a book that he had been assigned for school when all of a sudden there was a huge burst of Reiatsu that penetrated the air and it was larger than any other Hollow he had ever felt before. He quickly pulled out his Shinigami badge and pressed it against his chest releasing his Shinigami form and then jumped out the window and headed towards the park where they were located.

_Soul Society_

In the meeting hall in the barracks of the 1st division, the remaining ten Taicho of the Gotei 13 were having a meeting about the upcoming war however usually it would just be the captains but this time the Fukutaicho's except for Hinamori who was still in a coma and a few others were included.

"We are here to plan the upcoming war against the traitorous Aizen and his army of Arrancar. 10th Division Taicho, Hitsugaya Tōshirō will lead the Karakura Town Protection Division." Yamamoto, the Taicho Commander of the Gotei 13 ordered, he had the appearance of an old man with red eyes, a very long white beard, and long eyebrows.

He was looking straight at Hitsugaya who had the appearance of a child, had turquoise eyes and short, spiked, white hair. He wears a standard sleeveless Taicho's haori with a green sash around his shoulders, held together by a round clip. The sash held his Zanpakutō's sheath in place on his back and is tied to it at either end.

"Yes sir"

He said which the commander nodded in return,

"The members that will be working under him are his Fukutaicho Matsumoto Rangiku." He said looking at the woman who had long and wavy blond hair, blue eyes, full lips, and a beauty mark located under the right side of her mouth. She was well-known for her curvaceous figure; her most distinctive feature of it was her very large breasts. She dressed in the garb typical of Shinigami; though she let her robes hang loose for her ample bosom to be revealed. She wore a thin golden necklace tucked between her cleavage and a long pink scarf over her shoulders. In addition, her lieutenant's armband was worn on her uniform's sash, as opposed to around the arm. She carried her Zanpakutō behind her back.

"6th Division's Fukutaicho, Abarai Renji." He said looking at the man who had brown eyes and long crimson hair, which was kept in a high ponytail and had black tattoos on his face. He wore a standard Shinigami outfit, though he wore a white headband around his forehead, he carried his Zanpakutō on his hip.

"11th Division's Third seat, Madarame Ikkaku." He was a bald man who tried to deny it; he had distinctive small red markings at the outer corner of his eyes. He wore the regular Shinigami outfit and favoured carrying his Zanpakutō in its sheath.

"11th Division's Fifth seat, Ayasegawa Yumichika." Yumichika wore the standard Shinigami Shihakushō uniform with some customizations. An orange piece of clothing sat on top of his uniform around the neck, which covered most of his chest that would otherwise be exposed by his uniform. This is connected to an orange sleeve on his right arm under the much looser fitting sleeve of the uniform. Yumichika had colourful feathers on his right eyelashes and eyebrow. He had shiny skin, purple eyes, and jaw-length black hair, which, in conjunction with the feathers, gave him a somewhat feminine appearance.

"The final member will be Kuchiki Rukia from the 13th Division; she has her powers back and is familiar with Karukara town." Rukia wore the standard Shinigami Shihakushō uniform, she was short and petite, and she had pale skin, violet-coloured eyes and black hair, with one strand of hair always hanging between her eyes.

"Yes sir" They all said in union while Kenpachi pouted, with those two gone he would have to do most of the paperwork while they get to go off a fight strong opponents. Byakuya meanwhile kept his emotionless mask up but his eyes gave Renji a look that made him shiver; it was a look with promises of what would happen if Rukia was hurt. He would also kill the Kurosaki boy if anything happened to her.

"We have some vision of the latest Arrancar to appear in the living world, Kurotsuchi-Taichoif you would."

The 12th Division Taicho had a very skeletal look with a skull-like visage. His face was painted entirely white with the inner portion of his face painted black with the exception of his nose. His eyes were a golden color and he constantly bared his teeth giving the appearance of him constantly smiling. Both his ears were seemingly replaced with stubbed golden cones. His fingernails were blue and, with the exception of the fingernail on his right middle finger, were all short. The one long fingernail is was long as the finger itself. He also wore a white hat with two ends that point to his right and a large purple scarf around his neck. His whole body, even his face and hands, had been painted black and white.

He held up a projector that when he turned it on, it displayed a big picture in the centre of the room for all to see, and in the picture they saw a large Hollow appear from the Garganta which Rukia immediately recognized.

"Grand Fisher" She breathed catching most looks from the room;

"You know the Grand Fisher?" Ukitake-Taicho asked her; his white hair was worn long, almost reaching his waist. He wore it parted on the left side with one long piece that tended to fall over his right eye and he had green eyes. He wore the common Shinigami uniform with a long sleeved Taicho's haori, and a crimson lining. He wore a narrow white obi, in which he secured his Zanpakutō's.

"Yeah, when Ichigo had my Shinigami powers, he fought the Grand Fisher to a draw before it fled."

"My, my, even before he came to Soul Society, Kurosaki Ichigo was defying the odds." Kyōraku Shunsui the 8th Division Taicho spoke up; he had grey eyes and long wavy brown which was tied in a long ponytail and had long bangs that frame the left side of his face. He wore a straw hat and a pink, flowered ladies kimono, which was draped across his shoulders and over his captain's uniform. He had thin facial hair around his mouth and on his cheeks.

"Speaking of Ichigo-kun" Ukitake said as Ichigo appeared on screen behind Grand Fisher in his Bankai.

"That boy can't resist flaunting his Bankai." Byakuya scoffed; he had slate gray eyes and long black hair, which he kept up in intricate white headpieces that symbolize his nobility as the head of the Kuchiki family. One was on top of his head and another on the right side. He wore the standard captain uniform along with a white scarf and he wore fingerless white gloves that cover only the back of his hands.

"That's Ichigo's Bankai? I can't wait to battle him again, a nice simple sword for a Bankai, none of this huge Bankai crap." Kenpachi said with a huge maniac grin on his face, he wore a sleeveless Taicho's haori that had a ragged look to it. He had spiky-hair with small bells at its tips and wore an eye patch on his right eye. He had green eyes, pronounced hairless eyebrow ridges and a huge scar running down the left side of his face.

"Instead of an extension type Bankai, Kurosaki's is a compression." Byakuya told him which only fuelled Kenpachi's desire to fight Ichigo again.

"_Kurosaki Ichigo, It's time for us to finish our battle; this time I will kill you."_

"_Unless you run away again you son of a bitch!"_

"Wow, I have never heard Ichigo this angry before." Renji which Byakuya had to agree, even though he tried to execute Rukia, the boy was never this angry at him. Rukia looked down knowing exactly why he was angry;

"It doesn't matter how angry he is, there is no need for him to go Bankai against an opponent like this, and he is just being reckless." Soifon said; she was a relatively short and petite woman with gray eyes and black hair. Her hair was worn short with two long braids bound in white cloth each ending in a large golden ring. She wore the traditional Shinigami Taicho's uniform with a sleeveless haori and a yellow obi tied around her waist.

"That is not why he is in Bankai." Rukia spoke up before cringing expecting reprimanded for talking out of turn;

"Speak your mind Kuchiki Rukia." The Commander said,

"When Ichigo was 9 years old, he told me that his family all revolved around his mum, but then she was murdered and Ichigo felt responsible until he found out that it was the Grand Fisher that killed her. There are two reasons why he is in Bankai, to show Fisher the difference in their powers and also so that he is quick enough to stop him in case he escapes."

Murmurs were heard throughout the room before they all watched Ichigo kill the Grand Fisher which Kenpachi again expressed his interest in fighting Ichigo again.

"I think we are focusing off the reason why we are watching this." Unohana Retsu spoke up; she had blue eyes and black hair. She wore the standard Shinigami Taicho uniform apart from using an obi instead of the normal sash. Her hair was long and was always worn as a large braid in front. Unlike most Shinigami who carries their Zanpakutō in their sash, Unohana had a large string attached to the sheath of her Zanpakutō and carried it over her shoulder.

"Yes, while the Grand Fisher was weak, he was the most stable Arrancar we have ever seen and they are developing at a much faster rate than we had anticipated. And that means?" Kurotsuchi spoke up.

"Aizen Sōsuke!" Komamura growled; Komamura was an anthropomorphic wolf, his fur was light-brown in color, which was the same color as his gloves. He also wore shoulder pads over his haori and large, plated boots instead of sandals.

"The Karakura Town Protection Division will depart in three days while the other Tai –." The Commander was cut off however when a light on the projector flashed red and beeping sound went off.

"What is that?" Hitsugaya asked as Kurotsuchi pressed a few buttons on the projector before the screen changed to an image of a park in Karakura with a large crater in the middle.

"Two enormous Hollow Reiatsu's were detected in Karakura; I am going to a live feed."

_Real World _

Chad and Inoue had gotten there first, and were shocked by the amount of dead bodies that were lying in the grass; Inoue looked to see a weakened Tatsuki and ran over to help her. Chad told her to get her out of there and that he would hold them off before activating his right arm.

"Ulquiorra, is this the one?" The big one asked, with tan skin and a ridge-lined cranium, brown eyes and black hair. He had long, bushy sideburns and a thin ponytail and the top of his head was bald. He also had orange eye brows and red markings under his eyes. The remains of his Hollow mask were the jawbone complete with 8 teeth, which rested on his chin. A tattoo of the number 10 was on his left shoulder.

"You should improve your investigation abilities Yammy, he is trash." Ulquiorra said emotionlessly, he was a slender, yet fairly muscular, average height with a melancholic appearance, fairly short, messy black hair, pale white skin, a black upper lip, and green eyes with small slit-shaped pupils similar to a cat's. Part of his bangs fell between his eyes, and he had distinctively thick eyebrows. He had teal lines that descend from his eyes, making it appear as if he was crying. He wore a white jacket, black sash, and a white hakama. His Hollow hole was located on his sternum, the remainder of his Hollow mask lied on top of his head, forming a broken horned helmet.

"Too bad!" Yammy shouted before attempting to punch Chad who thanks to his training with Yoruichi whose attacks was much faster was able to dodge and charged up his Reiatsu in his arm. He fired it at point blank range;

"El Directo!"

When the Reiatsu cleared, Yammy was revealed to only have a slight bruise on his check and a tiny bit of blood flowing from his bottom lip.

"Is that all?" He asked before he swung his fist and Chad attempted to block it but the force of the hit broke his arm in several places forcing him unconscious.

"Sado-kun!" Inoue yelled out in worry before attempting to heal him, which caught Ulquiorra's interest as he observed it to be time reversal technique, it was the first time he had ever witnessed a move like this.

She fired her Koten Zanshun at Yammy who calmly brushed it aside with little interest before asking Ulquiorra;

"Is she trashed to?"

"Yeah, kill her Yammy"

As he swung his fist towards Inoue's head intending to kill her, it was stopped in its tracks by a katana belonging to Ichigo who had just arrived in time. He looked down at Chad and frowned in worry and anger at his friends injuries, then looking at Inoue and he told her;

"Inoue back away, I'll end this quickly"

Inoue nodded before she went over to Chad's side to focus on healing his injuries while Ichigo put his left hand on his right arm and shouted;

"BANKAI!"

After a huge explosion of Reiatsu, Ichigo stood before Yammy who just scratched his head looking confused before he asked;

"Did you say Bankai? Ulquiorra is he the one?"

"Yes. Who would have thought with all your flailing about could smoke him out so easily? Orange hair, black Bankai... There is no mistaking it. This is our target Yammy."

"So this saves us the trouble of looking for him!" Yammy laughed before cocking his fist back and as he went to punch him he shouted;

"I'm lucky!"

However is punched was stopped in its tracks by Ichigo's Tensa Zangetsu as he blocked it with the tip of the sword facing the ground, Ichigo glared at Yammy's astonished look.

"Were you the one that did that to Chad's arm?"

"What about it?"

Ichigo jumped over him as Ulquiorra's eyes widen for a second as Yammy's arm was cleaved off causing him to shout in pain before he swung his other arm at Ichigo who merely shunpoed out of the way.

"Dam you brat!" Yammy growled at him while Ichigo calmly rested his sword against his shoulder and said;

"You can still stand? You're just as tough as you appear."

"You're having quite a time there, aren't you? Do you want me to fight him for you?" Ulquiorra spoke up from behind him making him turn his head towards him and shout;

"Shut up!"

He grabbed the handle of his sword;

"Are you going to use your Zanpakutō on a runt like this?"

"I told you to shut up!"

"_A Zanpakutō? First Fisher comes back with one, then these guys. What are these guys? They have a broken Hollow mask, a hole in there chest and a Zanpakutō. Could they be related to Hirako and me?" _Ichigo thought to himself, but by the way that the other one was talking, it seemed that using their swords makes them stronger, so he couldn't let him.

As Yammy began pulling out his Zanpakutō, Ichigo Shunpoed past him, cutting off his remaining arm causing his Zanpakutō to fall onto the ground with his arm. Yammy yelled out in pain as lost his other arm before glaring at Ichigo.

"_Not bad, now Yammy can't use his Zanpakutō or use his release, this kid is interesting, and I heard that he only just recently learned Bankai but still at this level he doesn't pose any threat to Aizen-sama. Still why is he so interested in this boy?" _Ulquiorra thought to himself, he closed his eyes and began sensing Ichigo's Reiatsu, thanks to his investigative powers he was able to dig deep in Ichigo's Reiatsu before his eyes widened in shock.

"_That brat has that much Reiatsu? It's also much darker than any other Shinigami's, and it's almost like a Hollow's. He has a larger Reiatsu than myself, he truly is an intriguing Shinigami, one I am very interested in seeing how he world progress."_

"HOW FUCKING DARE YOU CUT OFF BOTH OF MY ARMS!" Yammy yelled at Ichigo who as only standing in front of him only a few feet away from before to Ichigo's surprise a red Cero began forming in his mouth. He fired it before Ichigo had a chance to dodge and the Cero hit before an explosion occurred and dust and rubble filled the air as Yammy began laughing.

"HAHAHA! There is no way he would be able to dodge my Cero at this range!"

"Dodge what?" A voice said through the dust as Yammy's eyes widened in shock as he saw Ichigo standing there in a similar position to when he blocked his Inner Hollow's cero. When the Cero shot at him, Ichigo had instinctively went in to this stance and he could have sworn he saw a big circle of blue Reiatsu surround him and blocked the Cero but he couldn't be sure.

"Impossible" Yammy whispered before there was a slash from his right hip up to his left shoulder as blood poured out of his body, he saw Ichigo standing behind him. He couldn't keep up the brat's movements as he sank to his knees gritting his teeth in pain.

Ichigo turned around and swung Tensa Zangetsu towards the right side of Yammy's unprotected neck but it was stopped as an arm blocked its path. Ichigo's eyes widen as he saw Ulquiorra holding his arm up with Tensa hitting his forearm but Ichigo's shock was more the fact that he hadn't cut through his arm more than him coming to protect his comrade.

"Ulquiorra?" Yammy asked but was hit in the face and sent into the ground by Ulquiorra's free arm.

"Pathetic Yammy, to get beaten so easily, you don't deserve to be in the Espada, I'll test this runt myself."

Ichigo leapt back as he looked at Ulquiorra warily before Ulquiorra vanished before his eye and appeared behind him slightly to his left side and aimed a kick at him. Utilizing his Shunpo, Ichigo was able to dodge the attack and swung his sword at Ulquiorra's right side but Ulquiorra saw his every movement and caught his sword in his right hand. Ichigo's eyes widen until he coughed up blood as he was kneed in the gut followed by a kick into the face and sent flying into the trees. He got up painfully, holding his gut, and then reaching up to wipe the blood away from his lip as he gingerly touched his cheek, which he could tell the cheekbone was broke.

"_Dammit, how strong is this guy? He hasn't even used his Zanpakutō!" _He thought to himself, as Ulquiorra took the time to look at his forearm followed by his hand.

"_Both the places where his sword connected with my hierro, there is bruising, still I want to see the power he is hiding."_

He vanished and appeared right in front of Ichigo and attempted to grab his throat but Ichigo was able to Shunpo away in order to get some distance, he couldn't cut him so he needed to think of a new plan.

He remembered what Kenpachi had told him back in their fight at Soul Society;

"_...the Reiatsu that I leak unconsciously is stronger than that sword you created by honing your Reiatsu to its peak in order to kill your enemy."_

So he needed more Reiatsu through his blade than he was putting in currently in, coming up with an idea he gathered Reiatsu in Tensa like he would to prepare for a Getsuga. However instead of releasing the energy he kept it on the blade as it was surrounded by a blue aura much to Ulquiorra's interest before he shot towards him. Once he reached him, he swung his blade down targeting the left side of his chest and Ulquiorra once again put his arm out to block the attack but when the attack connected, it cut a little bit through his skin. Ulquiorra's eyes widened and jumped back but Ichigo using Shunpo was back in striking range and this time when Ichigo swung down towards his chest he roared;

"Getsuga Tensho!"

The explosion of blue Reiatsu blocked Inoue and Yammy, who was struggling to get up, views of the result of the blast. Ichigo was bent over, the tip of his sword piercing the ground as he took in some deep breaths, that was by far the strongest Getsuga Tensho he had ever fired.

"_Was it because I kept gathering Reiatsu into my blade a lot more than usual? Or is because my control over my Reiatsu has improved and made it easier for Zangetsu to amplify?" _He thought to himself, resolving to talk to Zangetsu about it later, he was snapped out of his thoughts as he saw Ulquiorra from the dust.

Ichigo's eyes widen at the state he was in, he had a small gash running down the right side of chest, and it must have only been 30cm long. For him to only suffer such a small wound from such a powerful attack meant that he was in big trouble unless he used his ace in the hole. Ichigo clenched his fist trying to force himself to put on the mask, ever since he had defeated his Inner Hollow he had not once put on the mask. He didn't want anything to do with his Hollow powers; he only fought and defeated him so he would leave him alone but now he had no choice but to use them.

"I've had enough" Ulquiorra declared emotionlessly before pointing his right index finger at Ichigo and green Reiatsu gathered in front of it. He fired the Cero at Ichigo and it came at him at such speed that he had no time to dodge, and when it was seconds before it hit him he dragged the air in front of his face, bringing his mask forward and attempting to block the Cero with his sword.

His mask had been destroyed, his right sleeve completely destroyed along with half of his coat, there was blood coming down from his forehead and his whole right side of his chest and arm that was holding Tensa Zangetsu was all burnt. He fell to his knees from the pain and exhaustion that had suddenly overcome him, it seemed that the mask burnt a lot of his Reiatsu but if he didn't use it, he probably would have been dead by now.

"_For a split second before my Cero hit, his Reiatsu shot up exponentially but now his Reiatsu has depleted to the point that a simple Gillian Arrancar could handle. Whatever that special power he used, he can only use it for a short amount of time and it drains all of his Reiatsu. It is not as powerful as I thought, he isn't worth killing but he has potential, I should kill him here just in case." _Ulquiorra thought before preparing another Cero;

"This time you won't survive."

He fired the Cero towards the immobilised Ichigo but a flash at the corner of his eye caught his attention as it grabbed Ichigo and dodged the Cero. He looked over to where Inoue was to see Shihōin Yoruichi holding Ichigo along with Urahara Kisuke with his sword out.

"My, my looks like we made it in time, good thing you're so fast Yoruichi-san"

"I've told you before Kisuke, I am called the Goddess of Flash for a reason."

Ichigo's Bankai faded away signalling that he had lost consciousness, Yoruichi laid him on the ground next to Chad as Inoue who was filled with worry watching Ichigo get beaten up, had her healing technique surround him as well as Chad.

"Kurosaki-san has improved a lot in the last week, for him to do so little damage in his Bankai shows this guy can't be taken lightly."

"Yeah I know, us fighting together just like the old days eh Kisuke?"

"Sure is"

"There is no need" Ulquiorra interrupted them as he walked over to the now standing albeit weakly Yammy before picking up both of his arms and opening a Garganta.

"Running away are you?"

Ulquiorra brushed aside the taunt and told her;

"I have completed the mission I was sent here on, the Shinigami that Aizen-sama had set his eyes on is trash that isn't worth killing."

After that they both disappeared as the Garganta closed leaving those left in the park in slight confusion and looking at Ichigo's injuries a shiver of fear.

_Soul Society_

When she saw Sado go down, she began to feel concern of the friend she had met through Ichigo, and when she saw Inoue's attack be deflected she felt fear for her female friend. Then Ichigo appeared with an angry look on his face at seeing Sado's injuries before going into his Bankai. Bankai? It still amazed her that the human she had given her powers only a few months back had achieved Bankai in such a short time, when she who had been a Shinigami for forty years and not achieved. Also he achieved it in order to save her, the amount of determination Ichigo had when his friends were in danger, nothing would stop him from protecting them. She watched as he took apart the tall Arrancar with ease, slicing up both of his arms and his chest and then went in the finishing blow. She heard her Nii-sama say that he had improved since he left Soul Society which surprised her as she would have thought that he would have gotten a bit sloppy with school and his normal life. Kenpachi also expressed even keener interest in fighting Ichigo again and she couldn't help but shiver for her friend whenever he met Kenpachi again. Then it went all wrong when she saw the smaller Arrancar block his sword with just his arm, followed by the beating he gave Ichigo and then finally the Cero that had badly damaged him. When she saw the Arrancar preparing another Cero and with Ichigo to injured to dodge, her heart had leapt to her throat as she began to pale but thankfully Yoruichi and Urahara saved him. After living with Ichigo for all those months, then him coming to save her, he had become her best friend and the person she trusted more than anyone.

Once the Arrancar had left and the projector turned off, questions began being asked as they were all astounded by the power of the small Arrancar.

"Let us pray that he was a Vasto Lorde Arrancar." Ukitake said drawing some looks from everyone that was not a captain. "What do you mean? How can that be a good thing?" Iba-san asked

"It would be a good thing because then we would have seen what a Vasto Lorde Arrancar was capable of, imagine if he was just an Adjuchas Arrancar. Then imagine the kind of power a Vasto Lorde would be like." Shunsui explained to him which drew some scared looks from the Fukutaicho.

"Another factor that we have to look at is that they battled in the real world, if the fight had been in Hueco Mundo or here in Soul Society they would have been stronger." Soifon added, before Hitsugaya chimed in;

"Let's not forget that Kurosaki Ichigo could barely cut him in his Bankai, I know all of you have different opinions of him but there is a fact we must be aware of. Kurosaki defeated Madarame, Abarai and Kenpachi-Taicho all before he had achieved Bankai and then he defeated Kuchiki-Taicho with his Bankai. Yet he couldn't cut him, we are all going to have to train hard if we want to win this war."

The Commander slammed his wooden staff into the ground and ordered;

"The Karakura Town Protection Squad will depart tomorrow instead to aid Kurosaki Ichigo in repelling the Arrancar, while all Taicho and Fukutaicho will give there paperwork to their third seats or lower and prepare for the war."

**If you like it Review It. If you don't like then don't read it.**

**Chikasumi no Tate = **_Blood Mist Shield_

**Shibari, Benihime =** _Binding, Crimson Princess_

**Hiasobi, Benihime, Juzutsunagi =** _Fire-Playing, Crimson Princess, Beaded Mesh_

**Nake, Benihime =** _Sing, Crimson Princess_

**Shakkahō = **_Red Fire Cannon_


	3. Improving Bankai

**Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach**

**Chapter 3 – Improving Bankai**

_Hueco Mundo_

Ulquiorra and an armless Yammy whose slash in his chest had healed once he got to Hueco Mundo returned to Las Noches and entered the room where Aizen sat on a throne along with 20 other Arrancar that surrounded them.

"So you have returned, Ulquiorra, Yammy." Aizen said softly, he wore the outfit that the Arrancar wore; he had hazel eyes and dark brown hair which was swept back, with a strand hanging in his face.

Yammy got on to his knees while Ulquiorra bowed to him, "Yes, Aizen-sama"

"Now let me hear your report, here in front of your twenty brothers and sisters. Show us everything that you learned in the Human world."

"Yes Aizen-sama" He then pulled out his left eye and held it out towards Aizen, "If you please." He then crushed it which then turned into dust and flowed around to everyone in the room as they all saw and felt what Ulquiorra had.

"I see" Aizen murmured, "So that's why you decided he wasn't worth killing."

"Yes" Ulquiorra said simply, "Your orders were to kill him if he might become a problem."

"That's stupid" A voice yelled out, Ulquiorra turned to the right to see a man sitting down with a smirk on his face, he had light-blue spiky hair and eyes, and also had green lines below them. His attire consisted of a white hakama and a black sash; his white jacket was ragged with an upturned collar. The inner lining was black, the sleeves were rolled up, and he wore it open, leaving a muscular chest revealed. The remainder of his Hollow mask consisted of the right jawbone, and his Hollow hole had moved to his abdomen.

"I'd have killed that sorry punk with my first attack."

"Grimmjow" Ulquiorra said with a hint of annoyance that was undetectable to all except Aizen.

"It doesn't matter what type of logic you use. If the word kill appears in your orders, then it's obvious that you're supposed to just go ahead and kill that person."

"I feel the same way." A voice to Grimmjow's spoke up but Ulquiorra didn't acknowledge him; he just kept his eye on Grimmjow. "He's our enemy either way. Perhaps there's no reason to kill him, but there's no reason to let him live, either."

"By the way, Yammy, you got your ass kicked, huh?" Grimmjow mocked, "With you looking like that, it's more like you couldn't kill him rather than him not being worth killing."

"Grimmjow, you bastard" Yammy said, "I underestimated him, the next time I see him I'll squash him"

"You just don't get it do you? I would kill that Shinigami with ease."

"What did you say?" Yammy growled before Ulquiorra cut him off;

"Stop it." The turning to Grimmjow he explained to him, "Grimmjow, do you understand that this guy isn't a problem for us?"

"Huh?"

"Aizen-sama isn't concerned about his current state, but rather his potential. He certainly has some powerful latent abilities. However, it's very probable that they're so huge and unbalanced; he'll destroy himself if left alone. That's why I came back without killing him."

"And I'm saying that's stupid!" Grimmjow argued back, "What're you gonna do if he gets strong enough to take us on?"

"If it comes to that, I will finish him myself." Ulquiorra said matter-of-factly much to Grimmjow's surprise, "Now you don't have anything to complain about."

"That's right." Aizen interfered, "I don't mind if that's the case. You may do as you see fit, Ulquiorra."

Ulquiorra bowed and gratefully said, "Thank you very much."

Grimmjow just steamed in anger.

_Real World_

It was midnight as Ichigo was up in his room, recovered from his injuries thanks to Inoue, writing a note for his family telling them he would be gone for a while. Ever since he woke up he couldn't get his mind off that fight with Ulquiorra about how easily he was defeated, just when he thought he was making progress to challenge Aizen, this happened. He couldn't help think how powerful Aizen must be to be able to force someone as powerful as Ulquiorra and then some of Aizen's words came back to him.

"_...Then isn't there a way to break through it and surpass all of the limits to your abilities? There is. There is just one way. That is... the transformation from a Shinigami into a Hollow. By breaking down the wall that separates the two opposites, that being is able to climb to a higher level."_

He had feared his Hollow powers, feared that if he used it, he would be devoured but now he had to take that risk. Unlike Aizen or any other Shinigami he didn't have centuries to hone his power, and there were only a select group that could help him. Aizen almost mentioned experiments of turning Shinigami into Hollows and wondered if the Visored's were those experiments, now he just had to know what side they were on.

He jumped onto the roof of his house, closed his eyes and focused on the location of their Reiatsu and he could sense a warehouse on the other side of town. He caught a few buses in order to get there, not wanting to leave his body at his house or give it to Kon and he eventually made it there. As he approached the front door, a golden barrier broke off a small opening for him to enter, when he got inside he saw the door closed behind him.

"Good job findin' this place, Ichigo." Shinji said making Ichigo look up and saw that the warehouse had four levels and there were a few other Visored on each level. Instead of the school uniform he had on the last time they met, he wore an orange shirt, with a black and yellow tie, black pants and a grey newsboy cap.

"Looks to me like ya decided... to join us. I'm impressed ya found us, considerin' we heard how much you suck at controllin' Reiatsu. Although, we pumped out as much Reiatsu as we could to make it easier on ya. So, Ichigo, you're because ya finally decided to join us, right?"

Ichigo just looked at him blankly and said, "Yeah, right."

"HUH?"

"Me, join you? Get real! I don't know anything about any of you, what are your goals? Whose side are you on? Why would I trust any of you? I'm here...to use you."

"Say what?" Shinji questioned looking suspiciously.

"I'm not joining anyone, but you will teach me how to use my Hollow powers."

"Looks like you're really underestimatin' us. We're not teaching you anything, dumbass!"

"I could have just told you that I would join you and then when you finished teaching me how to use my Hollow, I would have just walked away, I would have got what I wanted. You should be glad I am being straight with you, but if you won't teach me, I'll force you to."

"Don't make me laugh" Shinji told him, so Ichigo used his Shinigami badge to exit his body as he flew up towards the third level where Shinji was standing as Shinji pulled out his Zanpakutō and they met blade to blade. Ichigo pushed him off, followed by swiping at his head which was deflect and in return Shinji targeted his waist but Ichigo jumped over him and swung at his back only for Shinji to quickly spin around and block it. Ichigo flew back a few meters, then charged and did a two handed swing downwards at Shinji's head but Shinji quickly used Shunpo to get behind Ichigo's left shoulder and aimed for his shoulder. However Ichigo threw his sword over his left shoulder like he did against Byakuya back in Soul Society and deflect it before spinning around attacking Shinji's waist but was parried by Shinji's sword. The both clashed Zanpakutō again, this time they didn't try to disconnect but tried to overpower the other before Shinji having enough, kicked him in the gut which sent him soaring into some crates.

Shinji landed back onto the ground, just as Ichigo burst out of the crates and landed on the ground a few metres in front of Shinji before they charged each other again and began clashing swords again. The other Visored were all on the ground level watching the battle when;

"That Ichigo boy is pretty good to fight on par with Shinji" Ōtoribashi Rōjūrō, more commonly referred to as Rose said; he had purple eyes, long, wavy, blond hair. He wore a black suit with a thigh length black jacket, a white frilled shirt with frilled cuffs and high collar, which he commonly kept untucked.

"Idiot! Take a closer look. Shinji isn't taking him seriously." Yadōmaru Lisa retorted; she was a young adult woman with turquoise eyes, red oval glasses and long black hair. Her hair had bangs in the front and she kept the back in two braided pigtails. She dressed in a long sleeved sailor fuku, with a teal green/blue collar and matching pleated miniskirt that ended at her stomach, completed with a pink neckerchief.

"It looks to me that Ichigo-kun isn't fighting with all he's got, either." Ushōda Hachigen referred to as Hachi;hewas a very large and rotund man. He wore an olive green tuxedo with a yellow bow tie. He had golden eyes, a pink moustache and pink hair with a black cross bone design in the centre.

"He's definitely scared." Aikawa Love; was a tall Visored with brown eyes and a thick black spiked afro which added further to his above average height. Love sported a green jogging suit and wore mirrored sunglasses at all times.

"Scared? Of what?" Kuna Mashiro; had the appearance of a young woman with hazel eyes. She wore a white bodysuit with orange gloves, boots and scarf, along with a set of goggles atop her lime green hair.

"His Hollow. That punk's so scared; he's trying to fight without calling his Hollow out. We've been trying to recruit this guy, and this is the level he's at?" Muguruma Kensei; was a tall, muscular man with sharp features, short light-gray/silver hair and brown eyes. He had a tattoo of the number "69" on his chest; he wore a dark purple A-shirt with a white trim, in addition to green cargo pants, black combat boots, and a pair of orange fingerless gloves. He also had a series of piercings, with one on his left eyebrow and three on his left ear.

"Where are you going, Hiyori?" Mashiro asked as Hiyori began walking towards the fight.

"Hachi, add another five layers to the barrier." Sarugaki Hiyori; she was a very short, brown eyed, blonde-haired girl who wore her short hair in stubby pigtails. She wore a red jogging suit decorated with the first kanji of her name and flip flops. She also had an overly long fang protruding from the upper left side of her mouth.

"Okay!"

"Ichigo, you're..." Shinji began to say as they had both stopped fighting in mid air both thinking of their next move however before he could finish what he was say, he was slapped in the face by Hiyori's sandal as she shouted;

"Shinji, tag out!"

Shinji went flying through the wall and barrier from the force of the hit and Hiyori turned and glared at Hachi, "I told you to add five layers!"

"I didn't have enough time" Hachi defended himself.

She faced Ichigo and smirked, "Well, that's fine. Ichigo, lemme tell you something. You got the wrong idea."

"The wrong idea?" Ichigo asked her in confusion.

"Yeah, we're definitely thinkin' about lettin' you become one of our comrades. The thing is, it ain't your choice."

"What do you mean?"

"It means that it's our decision. It doesn't matter if you wanna join us or not. After we see your strength, we'll decide whether we want you... or not. That's it. Think about it. You don't have any choice in the matter! If you're powerful, then we'll let ya join us. We'll even teach ya how to suppress the Hollow. But, if you're weak, then forget it. We'll leave ya to become a Hollow and die a pathetic death. Now if ya get the picture, turn into a Hollow already! Let's see how powerful you are!" She turned around and began to walk away from him, but Ichigo wanted to see how they fought with their masks on.

"Make me!"

Her Hollow mask started forming on her face as she turned to face him, "If you're too scared to turn into a Hollow, I guess I have no choice. I'll draw that Hollow of yours out myself! Even if I have to beat it out of ya."

"Try it"

"What're you so afraid of? Just because you have a mask doesn't mean you're a Visored. At least turn into a Hollow! Don't be a chicken, Ichigo. I ain't as nice as Shinji. If ya don't get over your fear and turn into a Hollow..." She put the mask completely over her face as her Reiatsu rose drastically and she withdrew her Zanpakutō. Her Hollow mask was skeletal in appearance and sported a prominent horn centred on the forehead with a row of purple diamond shaped markings over the eyebrows.

All of a sudden her hand was resting just in front of his stomach as he quickly looked down. **"...then you're dead. For real!"**

He was sent flying back from the force of the blow but was able to stop himself before he hit the wall, looking back at the masked Hiyori as she charged towards him with incredible speeds. Thankfully Ichigo was ready for it and blocked the strike that was aimed for his chest, even with her mask on; Urahara was still faster than her, her first strike caught him off guard. He used Shunpo to get behind her and swung at her back but he vanished and appeared on his right and kicked him his stomach sending him flying across the room. Once he recovered from the blow he looked up to see Hiyori had opened her mouth wide along with her mask and a Cero was beginning to form.

"_I'm really beginning to get sick of having Cero fired at me!"_ He thought to himself, he quickly released Zangetsu as she fired the Cero, "Getsuga Tensho!"

He swung Zangetsu up unleashed the blue wave that connected with the Cero and both wrestled for dominance until they exploded and thanks to Hachi's barrier, the warehouse remained intact. With the smoke blocking the location of his opponent, he felt focused on her Reiatsu, he then decided to use a move that his Hollow did on him, and spun Zangetsu on his cloth before throwing him in Hiyori's location. Seeing the smoke in front of her, annoyed her greatly as her Cero had been blocked and because of her anger she didn't focus on trying to locate him; so she was quite surprised to see a large sword fly out of the smoke straight at her. She quickly bent back to dodge the sword but her eyes widened as she saw Ichigo had Shunpoed up to where his sword was and grabbed it with two hands and swung downward towards her and let out a wave of blue Reiatsu. Hiyori did the only thing she could do at this point and that was trying to block the wave with her sword as she was sent crashing to the floor.

Ichigo landed back on the ground, resealing his sword he awaited for Hiyori to get back up while the other Visored looked on with interest.

"Ichigo-kun is pretty good isn't he?" Hachi said, while Kensei added;

"At least we know how far his Hollow is away from devouring him; he can still use his Shikai without fear. So that means we have plenty of time to suppress it."

Hiyori jumped off the ground and landed in front of Ichigo with the top part of her mask destroyed.

"**That wasn't too bad Ichigo, at least you used using Shikai, now go Bankai and let your Hollow take over."**

Ichigo shook his head sheathing his sword much to everyone's shock except Hiyori who steamed in anger, "No, that is enough I have seen everything I wanted to see."

Hiyori growled, **"Ichigo you bastard, I thought I told you that if you wanna suppress your Hollow you hav -..."**

"Suppress my Hollow?" Ichigo cut her off with a smirk, "I thought I told you that I would force you to teach me how..." He told her as his hand reached up to his face as all the Visored looked shocked as black and red Reiatsu appeared under his fingertip as he ripped the air in front of his face. The appearance of his mask was like a menacing skull, on the right side it was pure white, while on the left side above his eye he had 4 red stripes. Underneath that same eye and above his jaw, he had two red stripes and on the left side of his chin he had another 3 red stripes. His eyes irises became yellow, and he had black sclera and pupils plus his Reiatsu increased drastically and became black with a red edge to it. **"...to use it!"** His voice had a slight hollow echo to it.

Unfortunately for Ichigo, 4 seconds later his masked broke apart turning his eyes and Reiatsu colour back to normal and breathed in deeply as a huge portion of his Reiatsu had disappeared.

"You all ready suppressed ya Hollow?" Shinji asked him after a few moments and Ichigo nodded.

"Yeah, I did it a week ago at Urahara's but that was the technically the first time I put it on."

"You've been able to Hollowfy for a week and this was the first time you used it?"Love asked incredulously.

"Yeah, I just beat him so he would leave me alone, but after my fight with Ulquiorra today, I realised that I can't hide the fact that I need his power."

"For some reason I can't say I am very surprised, but now that I think about it, you're human yet you can turn into a Shinigami. You can use Shikai and you learned Bankai in three days and now you suppressed ya Hollow by yourself. Very well Ichigo, we will teach you how to use your Hollow powers, follow me"

He opened up and underground passage, and led Ichigo down before they came to an open field that was very similar to Urahara's. Come to think of it, how did they know that he had an Inner Hollow, Shinji said that they 'heard' about how rubbish his Reiatsu control was and they knew he had Bankai.

"Do you guys know Urahara-san? You training ground look very similar to his."

Shinji glanced at him, "Yes, we have met him."

"Was he the one that told you about me?" Ichigo questioned before Shinji sighed.

"Yes he told us about you when you were in Soul Society saving ya friend, he informed us when you got back that ya would be havin' some trouble with ya Hollow. Enough talk Ichigo, pull out ya sword and put on ya mask, you will be fightin' me!"

He battled Shinji for a couple of hours with no improvement made in the length of time holding his mask before the events of the day had caught up to him and slept at the Visored's place. It was early the next morning when Ichigo was about to depart to go over to Urahara's for more training in his Shinigami powers and also to get some answers.

"Hey where the hell do you think you're going?" Kensei yelled as he saw Ichigo heading towards the exit who turned around annoyed.

"I'm going to Urahara's for training in my Shinigami powers."

"You came here to learn how to control your Hollow power, dumbass!" Hiyori said angrily.

"Yeah, but that doesn't mean I am going to stop improving my Shinigami powers, my Hollow powers are just a back up."

"Let him go" Shinji said grabbing Kensei's shoulder and before he could argue, Shinji quickly cut him off, "It's his choice, this isn't a prison, come back tomorrow Ichigo, and every second day after that and don't tell anyone where our location is. Is that reasonable?"

"Yeah, thanks Shinji."

Once Ichigo arrived at Urahara's he saw that Chad had recovered and was training again with Yoruichi while Urahara looked on with a contemplating expression on his face.

"Yo Urahara-san"

Urahara turned around to see Ichigo and smiled brightly that scared Ichigo.

"Kurosaki-san, just the man I was looking for, I need your help in getting Sado-san to the next level of power."

Ichigo looked startled for a second and asked, "What do you need me to do?"

Urahara looked at him seriously and told him, "I need you to hit Sado-san with a Getsuga Tensho with everything that you have got while Hollowfied."

Ichigo shook his head furiously, "No way, I could kill him!"

"That's exactly my point Kurosaki-san; do you remember what I had to do to your eyes for you to sense Reiatsu, or to get you to fire a Getsuga on your own? When Sado-san activated his arm, he was about to die and his power activated, should his life be in danger again, his power will go to the next level. Can you see the slight difference in his arm now; he is so close to go to the next level."

As Ichigo looked at Chad's arm he did noticed that it was different; the shoulder extension became pointed as well as slightly longer, making it a little bit taller than Chad. The arm maintained its black color, but the magenta became slightly lighter and the design became more intricate, while the white was lost altogether.

"Are you going to let him go out into battle and hope that he achieves it during the fight, and then to go on to defeat the opponent? How naive, give him a choice now Kurosaki-san, to fight or not to fight, help him achieve his true power now so he can train with it before battle. If you are really his friend you would do this, you can't protect everyone, but you can give him the power to protect himself."

"Why do I have to Hollowfy?"

"Sado-san's power closely relates to a Hollow's so using a Hollow Reiatsu attack should help him evolve."

Ichigo after a long hard think finally conceded that he was right and they both headed towards them.

"Hey Chad how is your arm?"

"Better, but still not strong enough. I can't get it to evolve any further."

Urahara signalled to Yoruichi to follow him as Ichigo questioned Chad about his powers;

"What were the circumstances of you activating your powers?"

Chad just looked confused why Ichigo was asking him this but he told him anyway, "I was being chased by a Hollow but I could only see a its blurry form unfortunately I ran into your little sister Karin, she helped me as she could see its form clearly but nothing I did stopped it. I remembered however that my Abuelo told me that my big hands were for protecting, and that desire my power was born."

Ichigo nodded mentally thanking Chad for protecting his sister and asked him;

"How far Chad?"

Chad stayed silent obviously confused by the question until Ichigo clarified,

"How far are you willingly to go Chad?"

"Beyond my limits, even that means I have to die!" He said fiercely making Ichigo sigh in resignation. He walked away from Chad and drew his sword making Chad look at him in confusion. Once he had a good distance, he spun around pointing his sword at Chad and shouted;

"BANKAI!"

Swinging his sword to clear away the dust, Ichigo stood before a still confused Chad, "You just said 'Beyond my limits, even that means I have to die' if that is the case, then let's test your resolve Chad. I'm going to hit you with everything that I have got and I want you to block it, don't dodge but block it. What say you Chad?"

Chad brought his giant arm up and nodded.

"Are you sure Chad, if you fail to block it, then you will die! If you die here then you won't be able to protect anyone anymore" Ichigo said before taking a leaf out of Tensa Zangetsu's book, "Will you be able to look at your Abuelo in the eye if you fail?"

Chad's arm began to glow blue as Ichigo smirked as he raised his left arm to his face and materialized his mask before lifting his sword in above his head. He focused his Reiatsu into his blade as it was covered in black and red as he roared;

"Kuroi Getsuga Tensho!"

The wave of black and red Reiatsu headed straight towards Chad as he put his right forearm out in front of his body as he braced himself for impact. It hit his right arm, which felt like hit was going to cut right through but Chad held his ground pumping as much Reiatsu he could into his right arm. He couldn't fail, how would Ichigo feel if he didn't block this attack and died? He was counting on him to block this attack; he wouldn't fail his friend like he did back in Soul Society. He would use the power that his Abuelo gave him to protect his friends and innocent people from Hollow like his Abuelo would have done.

"AHHHHH!" He bellowed as he put every single bit or Reiatsu and will into his right arm as it began to change forms before he broke the Getsuga away leaving a stunned and panting Ichigo as Chad fell unconscious.

Ichigo was panting hard as his mask broke away and he saw Chad fall unconscious but before that he could have sworn he saw a change in Chad's right arm.

"Looks like he did it" A voice spoke up behind him and he saw that Urahara and Yoruichi were back both with smiles on their faces; well Yoruichi had more of a smirk.

"What made you decide to do it Ichigo?" Yoruichi asked him curiously, Ichigo just looked back at Chad and remembered all the times that they had fought together and answered her;

"It's because I believed in him, that's all. When you get the chance explain to him about my Hollow powers will ya?"

Chad woke up a few hours later, to see Ichigo and Urahara sparring before he sat up looking at his right arm, his movements caught Ichigo's attention.

"You alright Chad?"

"Yeah" He said as he stood up, he noticed that Ichigo was still in his Bankai and Urahara was using his Shikai before he activated his right arm and he along with Ichigo and Urahara were surprised what they saw.

His arm had formed shield that extended from his hand to some distance beyond his forearm with the same intricate pattern as before, surrounding what appeared to be Hollow-like teeth in the centre and what appeared to be a rose like pattern or skeletal nose and eyes near the end. He also lost the wing-like protrusion which extended from his shoulder, replaced with a hexagonal plate sitting over his shoulder.

"So that is your arm's true form?" Ichigo asked him and Chad nodded,

"Yeah, this arm carries the soul of my Abuelo; in my right arm dwell's my defensive power."

"So does that mean that in your left arm dwell's your offensive power?" Urahara asked curious about Chad's power, he had a sinking feeling in his gut when he said that it carried the 'soul of my Abuelo' along with the fact that his power had a similar feel to that of a Hollows.

"_I'll have to get Yoruichi to keep an eye out for that group; we can't afford them to interfere right now."_

"I believe so, but I have no idea to bring it out."

"Rest for now Chad and recover your Reiatsu." Ichigo told him as he swung Tensa at Urahara's chest but was deflected before he Shunpoed behind Urahara and slashed at his back but all he felt was thin air as a blade tip rested on his back.

"Wasn't your Bankai supposed to give you tremendous speed Kurosaki-san?" Urahara teased him as Ichigo pushed the blade away and jumped back to give himself some breathing space as he looked at Urahara with wide eyes.

"_For a second there, I couldn't follow his movements, he just completely disappeared. It felt like back when I was fighting Byakuya for the first time in the real world, even against Ulquiorra, I could see his movements but my body wasn't fast enough to react."_

"Don't you remember Ichigo? About Yoruichi and I's past, we have been friends since we were children, I may not be as fast as her but I can give her a good run for her money. This is my true speed Kurosaki-san and you are wondering why you can't follow my movements since all of your Reiatsu's condense in that form; am I right?"

Ichigo said nothing, he just glared at him making Urahara chuckle, and "You actually think that all of your Reiatsu is condense? How naive, there is still so much Reiatsu leaking out of you that you can't control, I would say it is about roughly half. Zangetsu condenses half of your Reiatsu in order for you to go Bankai, so you still have another half leaking out and you expect Tensa Zangetsu to lend you his power when you can't even control your own?"

Ichigo's eyes widened as his left shoulder was suddenly slashed and he spun around only to have his right thigh cut forcing him down onto one knee.

"Nake, Benihime!"

Ichigo saw the crimson wave of Reiatsu that was similar to his Getsuga come towards him from the right and he fired a Getsuga in retaliation and successfully stopped the incoming attack. The attack from Urahara was a distraction however as Ichigo felt the tip of a blade once again but this time it was at the back of his neck. He shunpoed away for distance and landed 10 metres away from him, panting trying to come up with plan to counter his speed.

"Do you see it now Kurosaki-san? I am condensing all of my Reiatsu just like your Bankai does, not only can you not see my movements, since I have no Reiatsu leaking out, you can't sense them either."

"Are you saying, that with all of your Reiatsu condense, that it is impossible to sense you?"

Urahara laughed, "Of course not, I don't have near enough Reiatsu for that, anyone that has similar control of their own Reiatsu or is a master at Reiatsu sensory can counter. But you Kurosaki-san are neither that is why you can't follow my movements so I guess we are in for more Reiatsu control exercises."

"I'm not done yet!" Ichigo said firing a wordless Getsuga at Urahara who dodged it effortlessly on for Ichigo to be above him firing another at him, but again he dodged with Shunpo as Ichigo landed back on the ground.

"Dammit" Ichigo snapped at himself as he saw Urahara leaning against a boulder mockingly, he began to think about what Urahara had told him.

"_He said 'Zangetsu condenses half of your Reiatsu in order for you to go Bankai' I remember during my fight with Kenpachi how I could barely cut him until I teamed up with Zangetsu. He more than doubled by Reiatsu, so is all the Reiatsu that he lent me, condensed? While all mine is still leaking? Dammit, I know how to condense my Reiatsu into my blade, but how do I do it throughout my whole body in the middle of a fight?"_

Instead of preparing for a new attack, Ichigo sat down in the Jinzen position much to Urahara's surprise and began to focus on his own Reiatsu. So deep in his focus, he missed the 6 other Reiatsu's that had suddenly appeared in Karakura town not far from his school. In his mediation, he could see all of the condensed Reiatsu surrounding his muscles and he could also see all of the untamed Reiatsu just roaming round his body, now all he had to do was to find a way to tame it.

"_So you are finally trying to condense your own Reiatsu throughout your body. Well done Ichigo, you have found the second step."_ A voice spoke up startling Ichigo.

"Tensa?"

"_Of course idiot, who else would it be?"_

"Shut up, so this is the second step then, how am I supposed to do this?"

"_I guess I can throw you a bone, now I am only going to say this once, so pay attention. Ok imagine a human body, and then in the centre of its chest I want you to force all of your leaking Reiatsu into a box and then shut the slid tightly. Once you have successfully done this, I want you to imagine tubes surrounding all of your condensed Reiatsu and then connect those tubes to the chest. After you have done that, slowly leak out your Reiatsu that is in the chest down each tube until they have all spread out equally then get rid of the chest and seal off the tubes. Once you can open those tubes without any Reiatsu leaking out then you have completed it but it won't be perfect, it will take you decades even with your growth rate to perfect. You get all that?"_

"Yeah, this is gonna be a pain in the ass to do"

"_Get it done Ichigo, and you are one step away from acquiring my power"_

_Outside of Karakura High School_

"I thought you said he would be at school at this time of the day, which is why the Senkaimon appeared close to the school?"

"He usually is, how was I supposed to know that he would be at Urahara's, you idiot!"

"I am not an idiot, you know Ichigo better than all of us, why didn't you know that he would be at Urahara's... wait you can sense him?"

"Yes don't change the subject!"

"Wait Kuchiki, I can't sense him" Hitsugaya told her effectively cutting through Renji and Rukia's argument.

"Is Reiatsu is a lot lower than it usually is but I can just sense it."

"Impossible, even if I focus my attention on Urahara's shop, I can't sense him" He said annoyed as they headed towards Urahara's shop. When they arrived and shown down to the underground training ground by Jinta and they saw Chad blocking Hadō spells that were being fired at him by Yoruichi and Tessai with his new arm. Then they saw Urahara leaning on a boulder watching Ichigo who was in his Bankai and meditating on a boulder surrounded by a golden barrier.

Urahara looked over to them and made his way towards them while, "Looks like Soul Society has sent back up, how nice of them"

"What is Ichigo doing in that barrier?" Ikkaku asked him itching for a rematch with Ichigo.

"I'll explain that in a moment however there is something that I need to do first" He then bowed in front of Rukia in a similar position to when he first met Ichigo after he returned from Soul Society. "I am deeply sorry for what I did to you; I knew Aizen was getting closer to finding the Hōgyoku I was desperate to find a way to hide it permanently and you were my only option. It was nothing personal."

Rukia looked at the man who had almost made her lose her Shinigami powers permanently and she almost was executed but she could understand why he did it, but she could use his forgiveness to her advantage.

"I'll forgive you in one condition, after that the slate will be clean."

"What is it?" Urahara asked with trepidation not liking the look in her eye.

"Any time I want a product from you it's free." She said smugly.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Urahara cried in horror at losing vital profit much to Rukia's joy while all the others just sweat dropped at the scene.

"Now what is Ichigo doing?" She asked him as he wiped away the tears and answered the question by asking another question.

"How did you guys know that Ichigo would be here? If you sense it means my barrier failed as it supposed to hide whoever is insides Reiatsu."

"Well it worked none of us could sense him except for Rukia" Renji said giving his long time friend a strange look along with everyone else except Urahara who looked like he was studying her, all of these look was making her feel uncomfortable.

"Hmm... perhaps when Kuchiki-san gave Kurosaki-san her powers, they have a connection between them like sensing each other's Reiatsu is like a seventh sense. Also you sleeping in his closet for the time you were here you became used to his Reiatsu." Urahara concluded while Renji and Matsumoto shouted, "YOU WHAT?"

"What do you mean you slept in his closet?" Renji asked her angrily,

"Wow Rukia I didn't know you and Ichigo were that close" Matsumoto said at the same time to a blushing Rukia.

"He needed me close so I could use my glove to put him in Shinigami form and when there was a Hollow that's all!"

Urahara chuckled at the embarrassed look on Rukia before glancing at the still unmoved Ichigo, "You will have to wait a while for Kurosaki-san to finish, and right now he is trying to improve his Bankai."

All the Shinigami nodded as they all except Rukia and Renji went out to explore Karakura town while Renji decided to have a spar with the improved Chad and Yoruichi helped Rukia with her Shunpo.

It wasn't until late in the afternoon when Ichigo's eyes finally opened, it had taken a long time but he finally managed to condense his Reiatsu all the way, he had to admit it was easier than he thought it would be. Tensa Zangetsu was a good teacher he decided, looking forward to being able to fight with him. Just then, he snapped out of his thoughts as he sent a few familiar Reiatsu's, but one stood out in particular.

"Rukia..." He whispered before the barrier around him broke away and Urahara stood before him with his Shikai activated,

"Let's find out how much you have improved in the last few hours Ichigo"

Ichigo nodded, he would catch up with Rukia later as he got into a defensive stance waiting for Urahara's move, he was still sore from the last fight and his wounds hadn't healed yet but he would fight through it. Urahara vanished and appeared to the right of him and swung his Benihime at him but he reacted quick enough and blocked it forcing Urahara into a sword lock, then whispered, "Getsuga Tensho"

His blade erupted in blue Reiatsu that enveloped Urahara before Ichigo fired a wordless one over his left shoulder into the air just as Urahara appeared and was forced to block it with his sword. He didn't receive much damage as Ichigo shunpoed behind him and attacked his back only for Urahara to spin and block it before Shunpoing back and firing his Nake, Benihime attack. Ichigo positioned his sword in front of him with the tip facing down and blocked the attack before flash stepping in front of Urahara and striking at his head. Urahara blocked it, but Ichigo noticed that he was only using one hand on his sword and his other hand had a ball of yellow energy in it.

"Bakudo 61: Rikujōkōrō"

6 beams of light immobilised Ichigo in mid air before Urahara slashed him deeply in his right shoulder making him incapable of freely moving his arm in any motion. Urahara released the Bakudo before kicking Ichigo in the stomach sending him straight into the ground which sent a lot of dust flying up as everybody had come over to see what was going on.

Renji had left to check out the real world not too long ago, and Inoue had arrived only a few minutes early to help heal any injuries as they all saw Ichigo lying on the ground badly hurt and Urahara just landed on the ground.

"That is the importance of learning Kido, it can change the outcome of a fight, still that was a much better improvement, and it was only my incredible knowledge that won it."

"Like...hell it...was...you didn't...even ...use...Bankai" Ichigo said painfully as he tried to get up but Urahara put away his sword and called Inoue down to heal him and then gave Ichigo a piece of advice,

"Power isn't something that can be gained quickly Kurosaki-san, if you get a powerful upgrade in a hurry then you can be sure it is going to cost something."

As Inoue began to heal him, a voice spoke up that subconsciously made Ichigo feel more peaceful.

"Reckless as always, Ichigo?"

He turned his head to see her with a slight grin on his face, "Rukia..."

"It's been a while hasn't it, just like you to be beaten up"

"Shut up, it has been a while, I think you have grown up to my knee now, you were at my shin last time."

Rukia developed a tick mark above her eye, "Let me at him, let me at him" she growled as Chad held her back from ripping Ichigo apart who just smirked at her behind Inoue's healing shield. Once he was healed and Rukia had calmed down a bit, Ichigo ended his Bankai and sheathed his Katana he looked over to ask Rukia what she was doing here when she was looking him in bewilderment.

"What the hell is with that look?"

She pointed her finger at him and yelled, "You have a regular sized Katana! Who the hell are you?"

Everyone but Ichigo chuckled at her as he just gave her his deepest scowl and angrily said, "I learned how to you bloody midget."

"Impossible, there is no way a Baka Strawberry like you could"

Everyone watched in amusement as they continued to bicker which Kisuke whispered to Yoruichi, "How long until they realise?"

"Not for a while, they both have a lot of issues that they need to work through, both together and individually."

Ichigo and Rukia soon departed to his house and on the way they walked in a comfortable silence until Rukia asked him;

"So are what have you been doing since you came back? You weren't at school but at Urahara's training instead."

Ichigo shrugged, "Yeah, I put school on hold for now, I have to get strong enough to protect this town from Aizen. He already sent those two guys I fought yesterday and I was destroyed, if I can't beat them, then I can't beat Aizen. School doesn't seem important to me right now."

Rukia looked down feeling responsible for putting Ichigo through all of this, "I'm sorry" she said sincerely causing Ichigo to look at her in confusion, "because of me, your normal life was ruined and you have been thrown into the middle of a war."

Ichigo scoffed at her, "You don't have to apologize, meeting you that day I wouldn't change anything. You don't realise how bad it was before then, having no power, no speed, I couldn't protect anyone but you gave me the power and I will always be in your debt."

Rukia smiled, and then quickly getting of this uncomfortable topic, they weren't the type of people to talk each other about their feelings.

"So are you going back to Urahara's tomorrow?"

Ichigo seemed uncomfortable to her at the question, "No, I have to go somewhere else for some special training; I go there every second day."

"What kind of special training?" She asked curiously at it really seemed to bother him and she had a sneaking suspicion.

"I can't say"

"Does it involve your Inner Hollow?" Seeing the widening of his eyes confirmed her suspicions before he sighed and asked quietly;

"How did you know?"

"Byakuya-nii told me how your hollow took over you during your fight with him."

"Did he now? Wait...Byakuya-nii? Since when you do call him that? He doesn't seem to be the type that would allow you call him that in public."

"No, in public I call him Nii-sama, but in private I call him Byakuya-nii, he has been a bit more open with me ever since you left."

Ichigo smiled at her startling her, "You have a heart of gold Rukia, and not many people would forgive their brother for trying to execute them"

Rukia looked away with a slight blush at the compliment before telling him hastily, "Of course I forgave him, he explained his situation to me and I understood. Don't try and change the subject, what kind of training do you have to do?"

"Endurance, I am in full control of my Hollow now but I can only hold it for a short time, they're going to teach me how to keep it on for long periods."

They arrived at Ichigo's house and after telling Isshin that Rukia would be staying with for a while which Isshin happily claimed he was glad to have a 'third daughter'. Ichigo and Rukia entered his room, with Rukia looking around nostalgically until she heard a voice scream out, "Nee-san!"

She stuck her foot in the air to block the incoming plushie and brought her foot down on top of the plushie and began crushing it.

"That's just like you, Kon"

"The way you stepped on me without hesitation! Without a doubt this is my nee-san! I'm... I'm so happy!" Kon said gleefully while Ichigo just said annoyed as he closed the door,

"Quit playing around. If you're coming in, then hurry up and come in!"

"This small room is just the same" Rukia commented.

"Be quiet you. You don't have to say small. Don't compare it with Byakuya's house."

Meanwhile outside of Ichigo's door, Isshin and Yuzu were both listening in with glasses pressed against their ears and the door and both had blushes on their faces.

"Sorry. It just slipped out." They heard Rukia say.

What's with 'it just slipped out'? Hey! Don't just sit on my bed!"

"It's no big deal! Don't be so cold hearted!"

"Shut up! You should just sit on the floor, stupid!"

"You're so cold!"

"What's this? Just when I was wondering why no one was downstairs. What are you two doing?" Karin asked as she walked in on them before leaning against the wall with her arms across her chest.

"It's terrible! Onii-chan brought a girl home with him!" Yuzu cried.

"He has been bringing girls home with him since he was in middle school although it was just Tatsuki-chan."

"She is different from Tatsuki-chan! She is more...girlish! She is even sitting on his bed!"

"Ichi-nii is a guy, you know?"

Yuzu covered her eyes and ears and let out a little scream whilst shaking her head trying to perish the thought of her brother with a girl.

"Masaki, do I let our son enjoy the passion of love or do I stop him? What should I do?" Isshin cried before the door flew open smashing him in the head as he fell back as a pissed off Ichigo glared down at them.

"See, now he got angry" Karin told them as Ichigo slammed the door ignoring Yuzu's wail of, "I'm sorry!"

"Seriously! Making a big fuss over me!"

"You're family is as happy as ever"

"Back Off! More importantly tell me about those two that attacked me. What the hell were they?"

"They were Arrancar"

"Arrancar? What the hell is that? Why are they after me?"

"Wait up!" A voice spoke up making Ichigo and Rukia look around in confusion when a noise above them caught their attention. All of a sudden his light broke off and he saw the rest of the Shinigami except Hitsugaya but his attention was sorely on the fact that they broke his light as they jumped down onto the floor.

"You bastards! What the hell did you do to my light?"

After a joke from Rangiku about Ikkaku's bald head, and Kon trying to grab her breasts, Renji explained that Arrancar were Hollows who had removed there masks. Rukia drew her rabbit pictures in her notebook to help Ichigo understand and he couldn't resist insulting them which resulted in him being smack in the face by said book. Hitsugaya appeared on the window sill, and explained to him how Aizen had developed an interest in him which sent shivers down his spine. Hitsugaya then explained all of the different levels of Menos and how they believe that the Arrancar that beat him up was previously a Vasto Lorde. After they were finished explaining everything they knew about Aizen's army, they all departed for the night. Ikkaku and Yumichika would find their own place, while Rangiku and Hitsugaya would go to Inoue's, Renji to Urahara and Rukia would stay at Ichigo's.

It was only a few hours later when a Garganta appeared in the sky, Grimmjow appeared out of his along with 5 other Arrancar who were his Fracción.

"I have felt several strong Reiatsu on the way here. That doesn't match up with Ulquiorra's information." The one that backed him up in his argument with Ulquiorra spoke up.

"Start a full-blown search." Grimmjow ordered as they closed their eyes and began to sense all of the people that had Reiatsu.

"It's just as I thought, they really are multiplying" Grimmjow said as he opened his eyes after finishing, "So they called back-up form Soul Society? If he wasn't so full of shit and just killed them to start with, it wouldn't be such a pain in the ass now. That's why you are stupid, Ulquiorra! D-Roy, Shawlong, Edorad, Ilforte, Nakim! Let's take over this area! Kill everyone, no matter how little Reiatsu they have! Everyone locked on to one of them? There's no holding back or worrying about gender. Kill anyone with the slightest shred of Reiatsu! Don't let a single one get away. However the Shinigami with the orange hair is mine, now GO!"

They all scattered with Shawlong and Nakim heading towards Hitsugaya and Rangiku, Edorad to Ikkaku and Yumichika, Ilforte to Renji and D-Roy to Ichigo and Rukia with Grimmjow tailing him slowly.

"Leave my body in my room Rukia" Ichigo told her as he got into his Shinigami but to his surprised so did Rukia.

"You mean our bodies" She told him,

"You got your powers back" Ichigo stated and Rukia told him she would tell him about it later as they headed towards the incoming Arrancar.

"What about the other ones?" He questioned to her,

"It's alright" She answered, "There heading towards the others that came with me"

Soon the Arrancar D-Roy arrived, he had a bulky helmet similar in shape to a hammerhead shark, the right-hand side of his mask is wrapped in bandages and his Hollow hole was in the centre of his chest. They all landed on the ground before Rukia drew her sword and said to Ichigo,

"Fall back Ichigo, this one is mine"

Seeing the determination in her eyes, he nodded as he could always step in if she needed help and he was curious to see her Zanpakutō.

"I'm Arrancar 16, D-Roy" He said.

"I'm the 13th squad-..."

"Yeah, skip it. If I had to listen to everyone that I was about to kill, there would be no end to it."

"I see. Then at the very least, you would do well to learn the name of my Zanpakutō. Dance, Sode no Shirayuki." She said as she held her Zanpakutō in front of her and turned it in a circle counter-clockwise. While she was turning it, the blade, hilt and tsuba turn completely white. The tsuba became a hollow snowflake-like circle and a white ribbon formed from the pommel.

Ichigo looked in awe at her sword,

"_Sode no Shirayuki, a most beautiful Zanpakutō" _Zangetsu suddenly spoke up,

"You know her? Ichigo asked him mentally,

"_Yes I met her when she was inside you the time you had Rukia's power, she was beautiful but downright terrifying when mad."_

"Sounds like you talk from experience" Ichigo teased him.

"_Focus on the fight Ichigo"_ Zangetsu scolded but Ichigo chuckled sensing how flustered he was.

"Some no mai" Rukia said as she shunpoed right beside him and swiped her sword, "Tsukishiro" a large ice circle formed around D-Roy which would have frozen him but he quickly jumped into the air above the circle and taunted;

"Tough luck, Shinigami! My true battlefield is in the sky! A sword that freezes the ground can't hit an airborne target."

Rukia just smirked at him, "What a pity" she said as the circle glowed before creating an extending pillar of light that shot straight up into the air and froze him, before it shattered into pieces including him.

"Sode no Shirayuki doesn't simply freeze the ground. Everything within this circle, both earth and sky, is within Sode no Shirayuki's domain."

Ichigo looked at the fight bewilderment that had to be the weakest Arrancar he had ever seen; he had fought ordinary Hollow stronger than him.

"Not bad Rukia"

"That guy was weaker than some of the Hollow I have fought." She said unknowingly echoing his thoughts which made him smirk.

"Zangetsu speaks highly of her, I think he is smitten" He said restraining from chuckling at Zangetsu's protests.

Rukia's eyes flashed in amusement, "Yes Zangetsu, Sode no Shirayuki told me about him, I believe she said he was a ruggedly handsome man."

Before Ichigo could tease Zangetsu, they felt a huge Reiatsu press down on them, they spun around to see Grimmjow descending from the sky, hands is in his pockets with a grin on his face.

"D-Roy's been killed? Whatever, I guess I'll just have to kill you both then. It's a pleasure to meet you Shinigami; I am Arrancar 6, Grimmjow!"

"What's with... this guy's Reiatsu? Is he an Arrancar, too? Is he really... the same type as the one before? The level of his Reiatsu is... worlds apart!" Rukia thought in horror until Ichigo snapped her out of thoughts.

"Rukia, can you go Bankai?" He asked staring down Grimmjow and she shook her head in response, "I see, then you better leave and go help Renji"

"What! I can't just-..."

"Rukia" Ichigo commanded instantly shutting her up, "Don't allow your pride or concerns for me cloud your judgement, you know that this guy is on a whole different level."

She looked down but nodded in acceptance and hurried off to go help Renji.

"What makes you think I am just going to let you go?" Grimmjow asked staring at her retreating form but Ichigo told him,

"So you are one of those weak guys that only attack people weaker than them. To afraid to take on someone your own size?"

"What did you say?" Grimmjow growled at him causing Ichigo to smirk in victory after getting his focus off Rukia and onto him.

"Stop the Rain, Zangetsu" Ichigo said revealing his Shikai but Grimmjow looked bored and told him;

"Don't insult me Shinigami! Use your Bankai, fight me at you best!"

Ichigo sighed he could sense that he couldn't win in Shikai much to his annoyance having to rely on Bankai again.

"BANKAI!"

Once again Ichigo was holding his black daitō much to Grimmjow's happiness as he prepared to destroy him but Ichigo scowled at him and shot back.

"Don't insult me you bastard, take out you Zanpakutō!"

"Very well Shinigami, but know that I don't need it to beat someone like you!" He said pulling out his sword but Ichigo just ignored him and shot towards him going faster than Grimmjow had anticipated and locked swords with him. Ichigo began pushing back as Grimmjow started skidding back, being overwhelmed by Ichigo's power but this seemed to make him just grin in even more excitement.

"You're stronger than I thought Shinigami!"

He forcefully threw Ichigo off his blade as Ichigo flew back before he charged towards him attacking his waist, but Ichigo jumped up high in the air to dodge; using Sonido he appeared right in front of Ichigo and aimed his fist for Ichigo's face. Ichigo ducked under the punch and swung his Zanpakutō up towards his left shoulder but Grimmjow bent back to dodge but the tip caught his skin and cut it a bit. Grimmjow's eyes widen as he sonidoed away to gain some metres before looking at the small cut, it didn't hurt at all but he was shocked he was able to cut him with just the tip of the blade.

"You have gotten stronger since your fight with Ulquiorra" He commented looking at Ichigo and then vanishing and appearing above and behind him as he swung his sword down at his head. Ichigo blocked the attack by lifting Tensa Zangetsu above his head and his left hand holding the flat side of his blade; he was able to push him off, spun around while gathering as much Reiatsu as he could to his right foot. His kicked connected with Grimmjow's side, sending him into the concrete road which left a big crater that would stump people the next morning on how it got there. A hint of red light caught his eyes as a Cero burst out from the crater; Ichigo quickly slashed his blade downwards releasing a Getsuga Tensho to battle the Cero before they exploded causing Ichigo to hold his left arm in front of his face to protect is eyes from the light and rubble. A sword came flying through the rubble as it tried to pierce though his head but he was able to dodge at the last second before Grimmjow slashed at his head making Ichigo duck. He stabbed Tensa at Grimmjow's torso but Grimmjow dodged to the side and attempted to kick him but Ichigo blocked it with his arm which almost broke his arm as he grimaced in pain.

"You're good Shinigami" Grimmjow said as he swung his sword at Ichigo's chest but Ichigo deflected it with a grin.

"You are to Arrancar"

"However I am just getting started" Grimmjow said as slashed at Ichigo's chest again knowing that Ichigo would block it and they went into a blade lock. However Ichigo was holding him back with two hands while he was only using the one as he started to gather red Reiatsu around his left hand causing Ichigo's eyes to widen. He fired the small ball of Reiatsu that hit Ichigo in the gut, he lost his footing which allowed Grimmjow to break the blade lock and punch Ichigo in the face sending him into the side of a building. Recovering from the hit which had left blood flowing from his mouth, Ichigo saw that Grimmjow had landed on top of a building with his sword piercing the roof so both his hands were free and they had red Reiatsu surround each.

In a punching motion he fired them, which were in the form of two small balls of energy that was travelling towards him at an incredible speed. He was able to dodge those two without too much trouble but he had a lot more trouble with the barrage that had followed as Grimmjow kept firing them laughing at a rapid pace. Ichigo was forced to duck, weave, Shunpo and even cut through them but he couldn't fire a Getsuga to cut through them all in fear he would hit the building and hurt the people inside. So he did the only thing he could think of, as he blocked, or dodge it attack he edge closer to Grimmjow's location however this unknowingly to Ichigo was what he had wanted. When Ichigo had gotten close enough that he was forced to move as fast he could to avoid his attacks, he fired a Cero at a very surprised Ichigo who quickly tried to block it with his sword.

Grimmjow's eyes widen when he saw the result, instead of a badly damaged Ichigo like he expected, there was just an oval shape of blue Reiatsu before it disappeared leaving an undamaged Ichigo. Grimmjow wasn't the only one surprised, Ichigo had just pumped Reiatsu through his Zanpakutō in hopes it could block that Cero when all of a sudden an oval shaped shied of blue Reiatsu suddenly came out from his sword and blocked the attack.

"Nice try Grimmjow, but you can't beat me that easily."

"Good! It wouldn't be fun if it was easy!" Grimmjow yelled picking up his sword and charged straight towards Ichigo who waited for Grimmjow to get close and braced himself as he and Grimmjow clashed swords again. Once again they found themselves in a blade lock and as they struggled for dominance before Ichigo smirked at him, his left hand let go of the handle and rested on the side of his blade much to Grimmjow's confusion.

"You know, getting into a blade lock with me isn't a good thing" Ichigo told him.

"What are you talking about" Grimmjow growled and Ichigo whispered;

"Getsuga Tensho"

Grimmjow was enveloped in blue Reiatsu as Ichigo jumped away from the blast knowing that he would be furious and that his next attack would be fierce. He saw Grimmjow after the attack had settled with a big slash across his chest and blood flowing down his head plus the glare on his face would frighten children.

"You bastard, you will pay for that!"

"Oh? How are you going to do that? You're at you limit, I can read your movements perfectly now and react accordingly. I can block your Cero and those other small balls of Reiatsu; go back to Hueco Mundo and I will let you live."

Grimmjow just stared at him for a moment before bursting out in laughter, making Ichigo looked at him in confusion.

"You dumbass, you actually think that this is my true power? I haven't even begun to show you what I am fully capable of!"

"What do you mean?"

"I still haven't used my Resurrección"

"Resurrección? What the hell is that?"

"As Arrancar, we seal our nuclei of our abilities within the form of a sword, when we release our weapons seals; we unleash our true power and our true form. I guess you could say our power increase is like when you Shinigami go Bankai!"

"Like Bankai? So this whole time..."Ichigo trailed off as the implications sunk in causing Grimmjow to smirk insanely at him.

"Yes I have only been warming up!" He held his sword up, like the start of a low sweep stroke, with his right hand and the sword begun to glow blue as he put his left hand on top of it. "Now Kurosaki Ichigo, you will taste the power of my Resurrección! Grind Pant – "

Just as he was about to rake his left hand it was grab causing him glance behind him and saw that it was Tōsen much to his and Ichigo's surprise.

He had dark skin and pupil-less eyes that were pale lavender. He wore similar clothing to the Arrancar with a single longer, white robe, a band-like visor and his Zanpakutō was suspended from a string-like attachment on the left of his robe.

"Sheathe your sword Grimmjow"

"Why the hell're you here?"

"Why, you ask? You really don't know? You take it upon yourself to invade the real world, mobilize five Arrancar and then lose them in battle. You are in violation of your orders." Tōsen told him as he walked past him, "Aizen-sama is furious, Grimmjow."

He tapped the air opening a Garganta and told Grimmjow, "Come. Your punishment will be given in Hueco Mundo"

"Whatever" Grimmjow said as he and Tōsen departed in the Garganta, while Ichigo looked on, usually he would demand for Grimmjow to stay and finish the fight, but if what Grimmjow was telling the truth about Resurrección then he would have been in real strife. He would have had to use his Hollow to counter but he could only hold it for 4 seconds so that would have been useless.

He exited his Bankai and then headed towards Inoue's house where he sensed everyone else was. Once he got there, he could see that Hitsugaya being healed by Inoue while Ikkaku was unconscious but his injuries had been healed.

"Did you win?" Renji asked him, he had a few bandages on him and Ichigo could see that he had a tough battle while Rukia was completely unharmed much to his relief.

"No, you?"

"Idiot, they retreated and your alive that means that you won, and I won against Arrancar 15, Ilforte thanks to Rukia. Since all Taicho and Fukutaicho have to have 80% of our power sealed I struggled to keep up with him at the start of the battle and it was taking a long time to get permission to break them. If it wasn't for Rukia arriving, I probably would have died; the guy we fought was a close range fighter so thanks to my Bankai and her Kido skills we were able to keep him at a distance. When I was allowed to release the seal, Rukia immobilized him and I killed him with my Bankai."

"I see... well if you were me than you wouldn't say you won."

"A captain couldn't win unless releasing his limiter and using Bankai against a Gillian Arrancar, that is how powerful they are." A fully healed Hitsugaya said with an angry scowl on his face, he turned his attention to Yumichika and told him to report his battle.

"Ikkaku battled Arrancar 13, Edorad and had no trouble with him until he released his Zanpakutō after that Ikkaku and I had to do a very ugly thing and team up to win" Only Renji caught the lie that he told, 'team up to win' really meant that Ikkaku had to use Bankai.

"I defeated Arrancar 16, D-Roy in one move, he was by the weakest of the group then I went to help Renji." Rukia reported glancing at Ichigo after she said the last bit.

"I killed Arrancar 14; Nakim before he could release his sword after my limiter had been released." Rangiku said and finally Hitsugaya turned to Ichigo;

"What about you Kurosaki?"

"I fought Arrancar 6, Grimmjow"

"6? One of the Espada?" Hitsugaya said sitting upright and incentive all of a sudden looking at Ichigo with determined eyes that said tell me everything.

"Espada?" Ichigo asked him in confusion, so Hitsugaya told him how from Arrancar numbers 1 to 10 were the strongest and known as the Espada. 1 was the strongest of the group and 10 was the weakest.

"Tell me how powerful he was!" Hitsugaya demanded Ichigo and so Ichigo told him that there even when he was in Bankai and how Grimmjow was about to go into Resurrección before Tōsen showed up and they left.

Hitsugaya was tired and weary after hearing Ichigo's report, the Espada were far stronger than he had ever imagined until he dismissed everyone for the night. Ichigo headed home with Rukia to get a good night sleep and then to head to the Visored's in the morning and also to have a talk with Zangetsu about that shield that was created during battle.

_Hueco Mundo_

After Aizen watched Tōsen destroy Grimmjow's arm before he ordered both of them to leave and scolded Grimmjow to follow orders or next time he would be killed before he asked Tōsen to send in Ulquiorra.

Ulquiorra entered the room not to long after Aizen had called him and bowed to him;

"What can I do for you Aizen-sama?"

"Ah, thank you for coming Ulquiorra, I have another assignment for you and this one is more crucial than the last one I gave you. You see, it's going to be over a month before we will be ready to start my plan still which is a crucial month for the Gotei 13 to gather their strength not that it would change the outcome. However it is not worth the risk, so I want you to go to Karakura town to give someone a message, the procedure on how to send the message is in the room to the left of me."

"Very well Aizen-same" Ulquiorra said bowing before heading to the room while Aizen sat back on his throne with a small on his face.

"_Now Ichigo-kun, your Shinigami powers have grown well but it's time for you to take your level of power to the next level"_

**That's another chapter done. I wonder if anyone can guess what Ulquiorra is being sent out to do and I can tell you it doesn't involve Inoue at all so what could it be...I'm sure you will all be able to tell.**


	4. Zanpakutō Rebellion

**Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach**

**Chapter 4 – Zanpakutō Rebellion**

**Inner World **

Ichigo opened his eyes and discovered that he had awakened in his Inner World in his usual position was Zangetsu standing on a pole.

"What's up old man?"

_"Can you hear it, Ichigo?"_

Ichigo just looked confused, "What is it? I can hear you voice-"

_"Not my voice."_ Zangetsu cut him off and Ichigo look startled and then focused on his surroundings.

"I can't really hear anything else. What are you talking about?"

_"Then all is well."_

**Karakura Town **

Ulquiorra walked across the grass towards his destination that Aizen had informed him with the required items in order to make contact. He had to admit it was a strange but nice feeling walking along grass, he was used to sand, rock and cement which were hard and rough but grass was soft. Thankfully Aizen had found a way to suppress his Reiatsu so that Soul Society would be unable to sense his presence in the real world. He finally reached the end of the grass and looked over at the lake that stood before him and noticed the island in the middle with a few large trees surrounded with butterflies and realised that this was the place.

He sonidoed in front of the island, he could feel the Reiatsu surrounding it and he raised his hand and pressed it towards the trees and felt it collide with a barrier. He pulled out the sheet of paper that had the words 'Zanpakutō Communication' written on it and he placed it against the barrier and muttered the words that Aizen told him to say and all of a sudden found himself in a watery world that had small platforms. He noticed a figure standing on a platform frowning at him.

The figure was tall thin man with pale skin and shaggy, dark brown hair and two bangs dropping and crossing over the bridge of his nose. He had turquoise-colour eyes circled by purple marks similar to his tsuba and the design of his clothes. He had long fingernails; he wore a long white robe-like coat, somewhat reminiscent of an Arrancar's. The collar of the robe was covered with a thick fur, featuring a purple ascot fastened by a ruby brooch. He wore a wide sash at his waist, decorated by a purple stripe and boots with pointed tips similar to those worn by Gillian-class Menos.

"You are not Koga. Only Koga is capable of entering here."

"Aizen-sama developed a seal that can enter someone into the inner world of a sealed Shinigami." Ulquiorra told him emotionlessly full well knowing that his words would gain the man's interest.

"Sealed? What do you mean by that?" He asked anxiously, was this the reason why he couldn't hear Koga? How long had he been sealed?

"Your Shinigami was sealed a few centuries ago by the Captain Commander and now I have come to offer you a way to release yourself back into the real world. You are not capable even with your talents to escape but with Aizen-sama's knowledge you can."

"And what does this Aizen want in return?"

"For you to release your Shinigami but you have to discover the location for yourself, the Captain Commander is the only one with the knowledge on how to break the seal and you will have to lure the Substitute Shinigami, Kurosaki Ichigo into your quest."

The man nodded in acceptance and Ulquiorra began the ritual as the Zanpakutō spirit thought to himself_, "I will release you from your prison Koga, I swear it and together you and I will get revenge on Soul Society. First I must release the Zanpakutō from the Shinigami and enter the inner world of the Captain Commander to discover Koga's location and knowledge on how to unseal him. Also I will have to discover a way to get this Kurosaki Ichigo to Soul Society. I wonder what is so important about a mere substitute Shinigami."_

Everything went black all of a sudden and a few minutes later, he found himself in Soul Society.

**An Hour Later – Las Noches **

Ulquiorra entered the room where Aizen was located and informed him that he had freed the Zanpakutō and it had begun its revenge.

Aizen nodded pleased with Ulquiorra's success even though he knew that he had a 0% chance of failure.

"And you informed him to involve Kurosaki Ichigo?"

"Yes Aizen-sama." Ulquiorra answered and Aizen relaxed in his chair with a smile on his face and spoke softly,

"Excellent, Ichigo-kun's development is going to rise significantly."

Ulquiorra looked on emotionlessly which would have fooled everyone except Aizen, who had noticed the very brief flash of curiosity and confusion. He was his most loyal servant, and even though he believed that he had been able to hide his second resurrection form from him he was sadly mistaken.

Aizen knew that while he was in his first release he was the 4th strongest Espada and Yammy's resurrection made him the most powerful. However in his second release, Ulquiorra is the strongest and also was a similar fighter to Ichigo, so he knew that it would be Ulquiorra to bring out Ichigo's true power. And once that happened, only he himself would be able to stop Kurosaki Ichigo and it wouldn't be easy to do, which made it all the more interesting. A worthy opponent finally.

He would allow Grimmjow to continue pushing Ichigo but at the rate he was developing, Grimmjow wouldn't stand a chance.

**Visored Hideout**

For the next few days, Ichigo trained at the Visored's place working on his mask endurance training but unfortunately it was a slow process as he had only improved it by a couple of seconds and it was starting to aggravate him.

He swung his sealed sword at Shinji who deflected it before attempting to pierce his chest but Ichigo was able to dodge it and prepared to strike at Shinji once again unfortunately his mask broke away. Seeing the opening Shinji kicked him in the gut which sent him skidding to the ground a few metres away.

"Dammit!" He swore punching the ground panting hard from the loss of his Reiatsu that came from losing the mask.

"Kensei, how long?" Shinji asked the Visored who was sitting on a rock, a scowl on his face holding a stopwatch.

"6 ½ seconds" He grunted before chucking the watch to Rose and telling him he was going to stop wasting his time and train.

"Man, ya really suck at this Ichigo" Shinji told him.

"Piss off Hirako, instead of criticising me, how about you give me some advice?"

"Keep it on ya face for longer" Shinji mocked him.

"Bastard" Ichigo growled at him before sheathing his sword making Shinji raise an eyebrow.

"Givin' up are ya?" Shinji asked him but Ichigo just shook his head and explained;

"No, I just need a break for a couple of days, right now I'm frustrated, worried, angry and tired that I just can't focus. First Rukia is kidnapped, then I had to get my powers back before 5 days of nothing but training and then I invaded Soul Society and battled many different opponents. Then the second I get back to the world of the living, I am training again and dealing with my Inner Hollow and fighting Arrancars, I'm mentally exhausted right now. I'm a human first and then a Shinigami or Visored or whatever I am second. You guys are how old? Could be 100? 200 years old for all I know but I am only 15."

Shinji whistled it was easy to forget how young this kid was, "Very well Ichigo, we will see ya in a few days."

"Thanks Hirako"

As Ichigo left the warehouse, using Shunpo he was able to get home quickly however he wasn't prepared for the horror that was waiting for him. As he opened the door he was greeted to the sight of his father, his sister Yuzu and Rukia all wearing bunny ears and cheering while watching the Chappy the rabbit cartoon. He glanced around to see Karin at the kitchen table with her head face down on the table and her hands covering her ears. She seemed to sense him come in as her head shot up and looked at him with pleading eyes that were begging him to help her, she never begged for help so he nodded to her.

"ICHIGO!" Isshin suddenly noticed Ichigo making his eyes widen as Rukia and Yuzu took notice before Isshin bounded over to Ichigo with another pair of Bunny ears.

"Time to join the party with your manly father, adorable sister Yuzu and beautiful Rukia-Chan"

Isshin attempted to put the ears on Ichigo but was met with a hard punch in the face followed by a knee into the gut and then thrown across the room into the wall.

"I would rather die than wear that crap!" He growled at his father but quickly glanced at Karin and calmly told him, "Besides I already promised Karin that I will play Soccer with her today."

Karin looked at him hopefully whilst Rukia was looking in him in confusion wondering why he was here and not training at the Visored's.

It wasn't long before both Ichigo and Karin were at the public soccer pitch; Ichigo occupied the goals so Karin could practise her penalty kicking. He was cornered by Rukia before he left; she had no embarrassment about the fact that she was wearing bunny ears and questioned him why he wasn't training. He told her that he was tired and just wanted the day to relax. Which he of course had to remind her that she wasn't responsible and that he chose to train and fight.

Focusing his attention on guarding the goals he called out to Karin,

"All right whenever you're ready."

He prepared himself for Karin's incoming kick, and was shocked when the ball went speeding past him and into the top right corner of the net. He looked back at Karin with wide eyes and then scowled at the smug look on her face before recovering the ball and throwing it back to her.

"What's wrong Ichi-nii, can't keep up?" She taunted him, which ignited his competitive side and he growled,

"It won't happen again."

Her next shot was saved by Ichigo who channelled his Reiatsu into his feet in order to block it and from there it turned into a fun game that they both enjoyed. It was times like this when Karin would open up to Ichigo and he was the only she ever opened up to and it was very rare. So he was only one to ever see the child like attitude that Karin hides and her insecurities.

At the end of their competition, in which much to Ichigo's annoyance, Karin had won 27 to 26 and Ichigo was amazed by how much progress Karin had made using her Reiatsu. What was even more amazing was that it was all her natural instinct; her powers were developing even faster than his did much to his concern.

Now he found himself walking back home kicking the soccer ball while carrying a tired Karin on his back, she had used up most of her Reiatsu and Ichigo suspected that she didn't even know she was using it.

Once they had arrived at their house, Ichigo discreetly opened the door and saw that the rest of the family plus Rukia was watching a sappy romance movie but Ichigo was surprised to see the look of horror on his father's face. He was also quite surprised to see that Rukia was quite engrossed on the movie, shaking his head at that, he carefully pushed his Reiatsu level down to avoid being detected by Rukia and headed up stairs to Karin and Yuzu's room.

After he put Karin to bed, he headed into his room and was thankful that Kon wasn't in there and didn't bother to wonder where he was and collapsed onto his bed, letting sleep take him.

As Ichigo was sleeping upstairs, Rukia departed the house having had enough 'family bonding time' as Isshin put it. She smirked to herself as she thought of Ichigo trying to mask his presence and sneak upstairs but what he didn't know is that no matter how little Reiatsu he released, she could always sense it.

It was easy to forget that he was only 15 and not used to fighting continuous battles, work or train all day and she couldn't help but feel guilt for putting him in this predicament. However she was unable to ponder on this any further as Renji suddenly appeared in front of her in his Shinigami form with an anxious look on his face.

"What is it Renji?"

"We have to return to Soul Society." He told her solemnly knowing exactly how she was going to react.

"What?" Rukia asked outraged, "We can't just leave; we have to protect this town in case of Arrancar."

"I know that Rukia." He told her calmly, "But it's the Commander's orders, and we both know that he wouldn't summon us back if t wasn't important."

Rukia just glared at him before sighing and exiting her Gigai as Renji opened up a Senkaimon and Rukia along with her Gigai follows him inside.

**Karakura Town – Later that Night**

"HOLLOW! HOLLOW! HOLLOW!"

Ichigo groaned as he opened his eyes and saw that the time was 2 in the morning, he jumped up as he was wide and awake from all the noise that his stupid badge was making. He grabbed it and smashed it against his chest, and released his Shinigami form as his body fell face first onto the bed and he jumped out of the window.

It wasn't long until he found the Hollow along the river bank close to where his mother died, it hadn't seen him approaching yet as he pulled out his Zanpakutō and shunpoed to the spot right behind the Hollow's head. He swung his blade downwards and before the Hollow knew what was happening it was being cleansed and sent to Soul Society.

Ichigo landed on the ground as he sheathed his sword, and sighed, "Man, and to think I used to have trouble with them. Kinda miss those days."

Just as he was about to head home, a light above him caught his attention and he was shocked to see a wounded Rukia fall out of the Senkaimon. He rushed towards her and caught her before she hit the ground and shook her slightly.

"Hey Rukia! You alright? Rukia!"

Rukia awoke groggily and smiled in relief when she saw Ichigo's face, "Ichigo... Don't worry,"

"Don't give me that!" Ichigo snapped, "What the hell happened to you?"

He was interrupted however when he felt a sudden Reiatsu press down on him from behind, supporting Rukia who had her left arm slung over his shoulder, he shunpoed back a to the top of the hill away from the Senkaimon.

The figure that stepped out of the Senkaimon appeared to be a beautiful Yuki-onna* dressed in white and light blue clothes. She had long, pale lavender hair tied into a partial bun in the back that is clipped at the left side of her head at the front, while on the right it hangs loose and is cut somewhat shorter, pale skin and dark blue eyes. She wore a Furisode kimono with a large pale purple bow in the back attached to a pale yellow obi: The top part of her clothing had long sleeves that reached the ground, and the bottom part was also long and covered her feet.

_"Sode no Shirayuki, what on earth is she doing here?"_ Zangetsu spoke up confusion lacing his voice which surprised Ichigo, he had never heard Zangetsu confused before.

"Rukia's Zanpakutō?" Ichigo asked, he could see why her Zanpakutō was considered the most beautiful in Soul Society and why Zangetsu was so smitten with her. He smirked when he felt a flash of annoyance from Zangetsu as he laid Rukia down on the ground and pulled out his katana and held it in a defensive position before Shunpoing to a few metres in front of her.

She looked at him with interest and a smirk fell onto her face, "Kurosaki Ichigo, nice to finally meet you in person. Hand Rukia over."

"Is there any point in asking that? You're Rukia's Zanpakutō, you should know the answer."

She frowned at him and shot a wave of ice at him, but Ichigo was able to dodge it by utilizing Shunpo to jump over the attack and followed up by releasing Zangetsu. He launched a wordless Getsuga Tensho at her but she shunpoed onto the top of the bridge and all of a sudden she waved her left hand and her Zanpakutō appeared in her hands.

She begun one of her dances that Ichigo recognised as his eyes widened before he heard her say, "Some no mai, Tsukishiro"

Ichigo looked down as he saw the ice tower forming underneath him and before it shot up and froze him; he flash stepped away and appeared only a few metres away. As he watched the ice tower crumble apart, he heard her voice behind him as Reiatsu began to surround his blade,

"Tsugi no mai, Hakuren**"**

He spun around to see her pointing her blade at him and a massive, powerful pure-white wave of ice shot right at him,

"Getsuga Tensho!"

The wave of Ice and Reiatsu clashed in mid air for dominance until both attacks destroyed themselves, seeing this, using Shunpo, he appeared just above her and slashed downwards and cut her in half. However he was shocked to see that she broke into pieces of ice showing that it was just an ice clone and he spun around as she was behind him again.

Could Rukia use an Ice clone?

She then held at her hand and blew a small wave of ice at him and he just blocked it with Zangetsu's blade, confused on why she was using such a weak attack. It became clear however when it stopped as he saw her disappearing into a Senkaimon.

He didn't bother chasing after her, once it had vanished he resealed Zangetsu and sheathed him and ran over to where Rukia lay. One of her shoulders was bleeding heavily; he quickly picked her up bridal style and headed towards Urahara's to get her healed.

**Urahara's shop – 8 hours later**

Ichigo, Urahara, Chad and Kon sat around a small circular table in a room which Urahara claimed to be the 'conference room.'

"I hope Nee-san will be ok" Kon whined.

"Ishida still in training is her?" Ichigo asked ignoring Kon as he knew that Inoue would heal Rukia no problem. He noticed Ishida wasn't here adding to the fact that he hadn't seen him since the first morning he started training.

"The Quincy training is very top secret, he is currently in a location that hides him from Shinigami, and I however already know where it is but have no reason to go." Urahara told him.

"So you said that it was Rukia's Zanpakutō." Chad questioned him and Ichigo nodded, "Yeah I don't understand how, but she had her powers and Zangetsu confirmed it."

"For the time being, I've asked Yoruichi-san to check things out in Soul Society. So let's sit tight until Kuchiki-san's recovered." Urahara told them, thankfully immediately after he finished, Tessai entered the room and told them Rukia was awake.

Moments later they surrounded Rukia's bed including Inoue who had been healing her apart from Kon who was lying on the cover crying, "Nee-san"

"Don't worry Kon, I'm all right."

"Now Kuchiki-san, why don't you tell us what happened?"

"Yeah" Rukia said and then told them that they had all been summoned to the Sōkyoku Hill and waited for the Captain-Commander but he never showed up. That a man had shown up instead, revealing that it was all a trap and released all of their Zanpakutō's and a huge battle began and she was able to escape to the real world.

She also revealed her fears about Byakuya but Ichigo cut her off, "There is no way Byakuya would die like that. He is far too strong."

"So Zanpakutō are defying their Shinigami and attacking them." Urahara spoke up, "I've never heard of that happening before. After all a Zanpakutō's true form resides within their Shinigami."

"What's a Zanpakutō's true form?" Chad asked him.

"Zanpakutō have a mind and a body that control their powers. Shinigami are able to grow more powerful by communicating with them."

"Does Zangetsu have a different form, too?" Chad asked Ichigo who nodded in return and Urahara confirmed it by stating,

"Naturally my Benihime has one as well"

"Is everyone is Seireitei ok?" Ichigo asked Rukia but before she could answer another voice spoke up,

"They're fine. The Gotei 13 hasn't fallen yet."

They all looked towards the door to see Yoruichi leaning against it with her arms folded across her chest.

"Yoruichi-san? Back so soon?" Urahara spoke in astonishment.

"Yoruichi-dono, what is happening in Soul Society? And Nii-sama... How is Nii-sama?" Rukia asked anxiously.

"Don't panic, I will explain everything." Yoruichi told her calmly as she walked towards her and sat on a cushion. Then she told them everything that she had discovered, that both Byakuya and the Commander were still missing and that there have been heavy casualties to all the squads.

Urahara looked thoughtful and asked Ichigo, "Kurosaki-san, have you noticed anything different with your Zanpakutō?"

Ichigo shook his head, "No not really"

"Oh, really? Actually I have read some reports from Soul Society for a while now stating that Shinigami have been having difficulties with their Zanpakutō. Not that I had any problems with Benihime."

"So he can't control the Zanpakutō in the real world?" Ichigo asked and Urahara answered,

"Are his powers unable to reach the real world? Or is there some other reason behind this? I won't know the answer without doing some research first."

"I'll go back to Soul Society in the morning." Yoruichi told them.

**Ichigo's Home – 11pm at Night**

Ichigo laid on his bed, deep in thought about what had transpired the previous night and this morning. Rukia was still currently recovering from her injuries; Inoue had only healed her major wounds as Urahara told him that it would be best for Rukia to recover from the minor injuries naturally. He spent the rest of the day just relaxing and doing a bit of study, and already was his mind clearer and was eager to get back to his training. He couldn't risk going to Soul Society and losing Zangetsu, he needed to protect Karakura town from the Arrancar, even without their Zanpakutō, Soul Society was strong enough to defend itself.

His thoughts were interrupted however as he heard a noise approaching his opened window, he looked out it and much to his horror he saw something approaching quickly. He just dodge it successfully and from the glimpse that he saw of it concluded that it was a ball and he scowled heavily when he saw it burst on his wardrobe.

It was just the same stunt that Urahara had pulled before he left to go rescue Rukia, for a genius, he had lame ways of contacting people. His eyes widened as he read the message however, Rukia had returned to Soul Society despite her injuries.

Dammit and just when he said he wouldn't get involved.

He put Kon in charge of his human body and strictly told him that if he did something perverted or anything out of character of he would spent the next year as Yuzu's doll.

He arrived at Urahara's shop a few minutes later, and saw with his own eyes that Rukia had indeed left and the signs pointed to her returning to Soul Society. In the room with him were Urahara and Yoruichi.

"That idiot, she is still injured and goes off running to a battlefield." Ichigo said annoyed whilst Yoruichi grinned cheekily at him, her eyes dancing with amusement.

"Funny, I seemed to remember something similar, but when? I can't seem to remember." She said with mock confusion whilst Urahara chuckled at the look of embarrassment on Ichigo's face.

"Shut up! Urahara-san please prepare the Senkaimon, I'm going to Soul Society."

"Stop right there, Kurosaki-san!" Urahara protested, "It's too dangerous for you to go there now. Just wait until we gather more information."

"But I can't just abandon Rukia." Ichigo told him and before Urahara could protest anymore, Yoruichi cut him off.

"Let him go, Kisuke. I was planning on leaving in the morning anyway. We might get our work done quicker if both of us go."

Urahara sighed and seeing the determination on Ichigo's face, he knew he had no choice. "My, my, there is just no stopping you."

**Soul Society**

Ichigo and Yoruichi arrived in Soul Society and Ichigo noticed the damage that the place had suffered so far.

"Listen up. Kisuke already told you this, but make sure you don't overdo it. Retreat if you notice anything strange about Zangetsu." She told him sternly but Ichigo just smirked and glanced at his sword.

"Zangetsu will be fine."

"I'll admit that Zangetsu's special...to you."

"Yup" Ichigo told her.

"But everyone thinks theirs is special." She informed him bluntly, "That's how Zanpakutō are."

Ichigo just nodded in response and the final thing she told him was, "I'm going to check things out with the Secret Mobile Corps." And flash stepped away.

Ichigo glanced back at his Zanpakutō for a moment and then tried to sense Rukia's location; this was the first time he had been back to Soul Society. He found it difficult because of all the different Reiatsu around but he was able to successfully locate Rukia and sensed that Sode no Shirayuki was there.

**Rukia's Location**

Rukia stood in small lawn of grass surrounded by pathways with roofs, with her sword out in a defensive stance as she stared down her Zanpakutō, Sode no Shirayuki, confusion flowing through her mind. Why and how was this happening? What did she do wrong for making Shirayuki wanting to kill her?

Sode no Shirayuki had already hurt a lot of innocent people, it was her responsibility to stop her, but she wasn't sure how.

"I'm free from your control. I am free. You have no right to stop me." Sode no Shirayuki told her causing Rukia to frown and ask her;

"Fine. But why are you hurting innocent people?"

Sode no Shirayuki responded bluntly, "I am simply doing what I please. And I will not look lightly on anyone who interferes."

"To be honest, I don't want to fight you."

Sode no Shirayuki answered by Shunpoing directly in front of a surprised Rukia and fired a wave of Ice but Rukia was able to dodge by flipping up into the air. She yelled out her Shikai command, "Dance, Sode no Shirayuki"

However when she landed, with one knee touching the ground and her sword stretched out to the right, it didn't activate.

"It won't even go into its Shikai form?"

"Of course it won't" Sode no Shirayuki said annoyed, "After all I no longer reside within that katana."

Rukia stood up as Sode no Shirayuki continued, "Up until now, you have had a free reign of my powers as a Zanpakutō. It was something I permitted. But I also had no choice."

"You didn't have a choice?"

Sode no Shirayuki pulled out her sword, "But things are different now. I am free to use my powers as I please. I'm sure up until now, you considered my power as your own. But you were mistaken. In reality, you are incapable of fighting on your own."

Rukia protested, "I have never thought of it as my own-"

"Some no mai, Tsukishiro"

Rukia was forced to dodge the ice tower by leaping into the air to the left and landed on one of the path roofs in a crouched position. Sode no Shirayuki slashed her sword across her body and Rukia was once again forced to dodge another Tsukishiro. However Sode no Shirayuki assumed this and had shunpoed behind her and blew a way of ice that Rukia was forced to block with her sword but the pressure was too much and was sent crashing into the ground.

Sode no Shirayuki landed as Rukia panted heavily, she had bits of ice stuck to her from the attack and asked, "Are you saying I can't do anything without you?"

She stood back up and began muttering, "Ye lord! Mask of flesh and bone, flutter of wings, ye who bears the name of Man! Truth and temperance, upon this sinless wall of dreams unleash but slightly the wrath of your claws."

After she had finished she raised her right hand with her palm pointing directly at Sode no Shirayuki and yelled, "Hadō #33: Sōkatsui!"

A torrent of blue Reiatsu exploded from Rukia's palm and shot towards Sode no Shirayuki but unfortunately for Rukia, Sode no Shirayuki summoned a large block of ice that blocked the Kido. The ice shattered as the attack dispersed from the impact as Rukia looked on in confusion.

"Are you surprised? You clearly underestimate me. Very well, I will have to correct your way of thinking."

After the last word left her mouth, she vanished and appeared to Rukia's left and swung her sword at Rukia's exposed neck, but Rukia was able to turn around and block it. However the force of the blow made Rukia skid back a few metres and Sode no Shirayuki jumped up high into the air and fired a bunch of ice shards. Rukia dodged them all by jumping backwards with the aid of Shunpo and as Sode no Shirayuki kept up the offence with the ice shards and Rukia kept dodging, she couldn't help but think of her Zanpakutō.

"_My Zanpakutō... she's beautiful. She is truly worthy of being called the most beautiful sword in Soul Society. So why? You look down at me as if you hate me! I am you and you are me. Haven't we stood together and fought together for all those years? Have I really hurt you by keeping your power all to myself?"_

Her thoughts were interrupted suddenly when Sode no Shirayuki disappear, her eyes widened and she skidded to a stop and looked around for her. Rukia stiffened when he heard a voice behind her, "Whenever you reflect on the distant past, your Reiatsu weakens."

Sode no Shirayuki stood behind her with her blade pointed at Rukia's back, who quickly spun around and struck her blade against Sode no Shirayuki and there was an explosion of ice. Sode no Shirayuki landed on a roof on a building and looked down upon Rukia, who was holding her blade above her head, the flat side facing her head and a hand on the blade panting heavily. The energy consumed to block the attack was too much and Rukia collapsed onto her knees.

"I hate that about you" Sode no Shirayuki told Rukia much to her confusion.

"What do you mean?" Rukia panted.

"Just a moment ago, your focus was on your past. It is one of the things I hate about you. You're so absorbed in your guilt, guilt at killing the man you admired the most, Shiba Kaien and guilt for involving Kurosaki Ichigo into the affairs of the afterlife. When you were happy, your inner world becomes very cold, with light snow falling and it is an amazing feeling. However I have only ever had glimpses of that perfect weather since the death of Kaien and it really pisses me off. For 40 years, no matter what I said to you, the guilt linger, making your inner world warm but not warm enough to melt the ice. Do you know at what moment it was when I finally felt that beautiful freezing cold weather?"

Rukia looked down, full well knowing the moment when she felt truly happy again.

Sode no Shirayuki answered for her, "The moment that you saw Kurosaki Ichigo stop the Sōkyoku, for a few moments I felt it but it didn't last long. You soon began to sink into that guilt, although it has lessened a bit since you apologised to Kaien's family but you don't talk to anyone about your problems. You have been surprised about my power so far, the reason for this is because I am no longer bound to your guilt and have full control over my powers. As long as you are held back by that guilt and keep your heart closed from the people around you, my powers and your own weakened and it's a real shame too, you had so much potential. But currently you are no match for me. Goodbye Rukia, Tsugi no mai, Hakuren"

Sode no Shirayuki pointed her blade at Rukia and unleashed the large wave of Ice as Rukia could only wait for the attack to hit. However she wasn't paying much attention to the attack as he mind was evaluating everything that she had just been told.

Her Zanpakutō was correct. The guilt over Kaien's death tormented her, fear had ruled her that day and instead of fighting of her fear and trying to find a way to save him, she took the quick and easy option and that was to kill him. The guilt that was eating her alive, she felt that she deserved it and that if she tried to find a way to stop it, it would be insulting Kaien. Closing her heart around others was the best way to keep that guilt inside but she had been selfish, she hadn't thought about the impact it would have on Sode no Shirayuki. Now that she thought about it, she always resolved to do the easiest thing, keeping in the guilt instead of trying to fight it. When she was badly wounded against that Hollow in Karakura town, she had accepted death but in the end couldn't bring herself to let the boy and his family die. However, instead of forcing herself to get up and fight, and she knew that she could but decided to do another easy thing and give her powers to Ichigo and let him handle it. Then came the time that she knew that Soul Society would find her, instead of explaining to Ichigo and working together, she ran away and ended up watching Ichigo die. Well at the time she thought he had. Finally she resolved herself to death, feeling that she deserved it but Ichigo broke through and saved her.

Ichigo... his determination was incredible, but had the same problem that she did, guilt and unable to talk about it however unlike her, he fought to make himself stronger and to never fail again. Now it was time that she fought back, to never let herself be put in those situations, to protect and save her friends. Sode no Shirayuki said she couldn't do anything on her own, it was time to prove her wrong and time to make up for her mistakes and Sode no Shirayuki would be the first.

As she saw the incoming wave her ice, her resolve set, she gathered her Reiatsu and raised her hands with her palms facing the incoming ice and positioned them in a blocking form and said, "Bakudo #39: Enkōsen!"

The spell generated a dull yellow energy in front of Rukia that took the form of a large spinning disk of condensed Reiatsu and she braced herself for the impact. The Ice impacted on the shield and much to Sode no Shirayuki's shock, the ice began to be shredded because of the spinning and she stopped the attack.

The shield faded once the attack ended and Sode no Shirayuki's eyes widened when she saw something in Rukia's eyes that she hadn't seen in a very long time. There was a fire lit in her eyes and she was confident that if she were still in her inner world, it would be freezing. Her interest was raised as she saw a large amount of Reiatsu was being gathered in her hands, something that she was unfamiliar with.

Rukia as she gathered a lot of Reiatsu in her hands, preparing for an attack that she had never mastered properly but now seemed the best time to try in. She muttered, "Ye lord! Mask of blood and flesh, all creation, flutter of wings, ye who bears the name of Man! On the wall of blue flame, inscribe a twin lotus. In the abyss of conflagration, wait at the far heavens."

Once she had finished the chant, she aimed at Sode no Shirayuki and yelled, "Hadō #73: Sōren Sōkatsui!"

Rukia fired the attack which was very similar to the Hadō #33 however the size of the Reiatsu was much larger and faster which forced Sode no Shirayuki to dodge it with Shunpo. However she didn't have much time to launch a counter attack as she heard from behind, "Bakudō # 4: Hainawa!"

All of a sudden she was tied up in a rope of yellow Reiatsu and had covered her arms so she couldn't move them and it got worse for her as she heard Rukia's next attack.

"Hadō #11: Tsuzuri Raiden!"

Electricity surrounded Rukia's blade and then she leant it against the binding rope and the electrical current sore up the rope until it connected with Sode no Shirayuki who had let out a shriek of pain. Thankfully whilst Sode no Shirayuki was in air, Rukia was still on the ground, and she stabbed her blade through the rope into the ground keeping it in place. Using the time that Sode no Shirayuki was disabled from the lightning and still bound to the rope, Rukia began to gather Reiatsu into her hands and fired another Sōren Sōkatsui.

The attack connected causing a huge explosion which destroyed her rope that was binding her. Rukia was panting hard, as she picked up her sword, praying that she had won, she could only use two more high levels of Kido's.

The smoke cleared to show a damaged Sode no Shirayuki, her left sleeve up to her elbow was destroyed, the bottom of her dress was ruined up to her knees, both legs and left arm had bad bruising and there was blood flowing just above her left eye.

Sode no Shirayuki descended onto the ground as she prepared for what Rukia was going to do next, she was very surprised so far, and perhaps there was some hope for her. However it didn't make up for all of the suffering that she went through, never getting any happiness, she would destroy her former master and be free to do as she wished.

Rukia glanced around at all of the injured Shinigami in the area as she picked up her sword and holding it defensively and told Sode no Shirayuki;

"If you must hate someone, hate me."

Sode no Shirayuki frowned and replied, "I do, I absolutely loathe you. Therefore... in order to make you truly suffer, I shall take away all that you hold dear. Your family, your friends, your pride as a Shinigami! If you hadn't closed your heart, you could have much closer to your brother, Byakuya, you could have been much closer to Ichigo, Renji and your other friends and you could have been a much better Shinigami than you currently are. All you need to do is watch."

Rukia sighed, she knew where to hit it where it hurts most, "I see, that is what I'd expect from my Zanpakutō. You know exactly how to make me suffer. You are beautiful, smart and powerful, I was proud of you! I was proud that such a beautiful, smart and powerful Zanpakutō belonged to me."

"I don't belong to you!" Sode no Shirayuki snapped at her.

"That's right... you're free" Rukia agreed much to Sode no Shirayuki's shock and confusion, "I hereby set you free! So please overcome your hatred! I am grateful for the time we spent together and I am deeply sorry about how much I made you suffer. I was selfish and caught up in my own problems that I hurt my most important friend; you!"

Sode no Shirayuki just stared at her shocked and asked perplexed, "You're just going to live without me?"

"Yes! Even if I lose everything and have to crawl across the earth... Even if I have to go back to Rukongai..." Rukia told her as she slowly approached with her head down and sword pointing to the ground as Sode no Shirayuki could only look on in shock. She began muttering under her breath as she did however but it was too low for Sode no Shirayuki to hear, "Masked with blood and flesh, under all creation, he has been crowned with the name of man."

Sode no Shirayuki pointed her blade, startled at Rukia's approach and said, "Do you really think you can defeat me?"

Rukia ignored her, focus on what she was doing; she was combining two Incantations and shorting them at the same time. She had never done it before, but for the first time, she truly believed herself capable.

"Through the gap of the thunder carriage's wheels, have this light break into six pieces."

"Aren't you afraid of losing me?" Sode no Shirayuki asked but again Rukia ignored her.

"Carve twin lotuses in the wall of blue fire! Wait within the fiery abyss in the distant heavens!"

Sode no Shirayuki panicked as Rukia got to close and surrounded herself in a sphere of icy wind but Rukia just walked right through it as if it didn't affect her much to Sode no Shirayuki's shock and yelled,

"Bakudō #61: Rikujōkōrō"

Inside the sphere of icy wind, both Rukia and Sode no Shirayuki found themselves trapped by the six thin, wide beams of light which was Rukia's intention.

"I can't let you take away everything I am supposed to protect! I'm about to lose everything." Rukia told the shocked and immobilised Sode no Shirayuki who responded, "What are you doing?"

"Let it all go... Anger, hatred, sadness..." Rukia said as she let go of her sword, "You aren't me. You aren't a part of me."

"Don't!" Sode no Shirayuki protested as she realised what Rukia was about to do.

"And I'll let you go... You were a part of me, Sode no Shirayuki... Your beauty... The power you gave me as a Shinigami... The times we shared together in the past... I give it all up." Rukia told her as ice began crawling up the front of her body, "It forced both of us to carry a very heavy burden."

"Stop it... Stop it!" Sode no Shirayuki pleaded but again Rukia ignored her as she raised her hands, blue Reiatsu gathering in between them, this was the final if she survived would use up her Reiatsu.

"Sode no Shirayuki, I set you free! Hadō #73: Sōren Sōkatsui!"

Both Rukia and Sode no Shirayuki were engulfed in the large explosion of Reiatsu and Rukia landed roughly onto the ground, alive but unconscious. As Sode no Shirayuki impacted onto the painfully but still awake, she thought to herself after hearing Rukia's final words after the explosion and before they landed.

"Shinigami are too afraid to lose you, so we're no match to you in a fight. We care... for our Zanpakutō as much as our own lives. Farewell my sword, my friend, my other half."

"_Kuchiki... Rukia..."_ Sode no Shirayuki thought to herself, _"Was I wrong? Did I overreact? I was given the chance to make her pay for the treatment that I received, but it wasn't what I truly want. That was the Rukia I knew she could be, the one I wanted her to be. Confident in her abilities, opening her heart, maybe it's not too late. I want to go home!"_

With that final thought, she transformed into her Shikai form, her soul rejoining Rukia.

"RUKIA!" Ichigo yelled a few minutes later as he arrived at the battlefield, and to his horror he saw a lot of injured Shinigami lying around, but his heart leapt to his throat when he saw Rukia lying in a large crater.

He crouched down and lifted her up slightly, checked her vitals and smiled when he saw that she was just unconscious and put her gently back on the ground. He glanced to his right and saw that her Zanpakutō in its Shikai form was lying on the ground and quickly retrieved it for Rukia before shaking her in an attempt to wake her up.

Her eyes opened painfully after a few minutes of prodding from Ichigo and smiled slightly when she saw his face.

"Ichigo..." She murmured, Ichigo smiled in relief before scowling at telling her sternly, "Hey what were you thinking coming here on your own while you were still injured."

Rukia attempted to give Ichigo a piece of her mind but was quickly cut off as Ichigo followed up by saying, "Don't bother, I have been guilty of doing the same thing."

He then grinned at her and gave her Zanpakutō much to Rukia's surprise, "Look's like your Zanpakutō wanted to come home."

Rukia just stared at it in wonder and was overjoyed when she felt Sode no Shirayuki's approval in her mind.

"_I'll do a lot better, I promise."_ She told her Zanpakutō, _"I will move past my guilt and be the partner you deserve. I will give you plenty of those freezing days."_

"_Thank you Rukia"_ Sode no Shirayuki replied, _"In return, I will always lend you my powers, the stronger our bond is, the more powerful we will become."_

Ichigo was about to say something else, when they were pressed down by a sudden Reiatsu and Ichigo stood up, withdrawing his sword and spinning around to the direction it was coming in all at once.

"Who the hell are you?" He asked as he stared down the man that had suddenly appeared.

"Muramasa" The man replied looking at the Substitute Shinigami, wondering what was so important that he would needed to be involved in his plot.

"Muramasa... Who are you? I have never seen you before. Are you a Shinigami?"

Muramasa smiled, "I'm... a Zanpakutō."

Ichigo's eyes widened at that information, "A Zanpakutō?"

"That's right; my goal is to free all of the Zanpakutō from Shinigami control."

"So you are the one behind all of this. Why are you doing this?" Ichigo asked him curiously.

Muramasa stared blankly at him and then asked, "Kurosaki Ichigo, what are Zanpakutō?"

"What?"

"Zanpakutō are souls born within their Shinigami's heart." Muramasa started explaining, "We share the same source of Reiatsu as our Shinigami and therefore we are always within our Shinigami. Once a Shinigami discovers his Zanpakutō's power, power hidden within his own soul, they converse and grow closer. By learning our names, they can use our powers and then a few special Shinigami are able to force their Zanpakutō the embodiment of the Zanpakutō to materialize. By beating them into submission, they gain even greater power with Bankai. As you, and all of the other captains have done but Zanpakutō don't have to live in symbiosis with Shinigami."

"What do you mean?" Ichigo asked he knew all of his except for the final part.

"I mean that Zanpakutō's have wills of their own."

"Zanpakutō's have wills?"

"Yes, Zanpakutō aren't a part of their Shinigami. We have our own souls and our souls are just as important as a Shinigami's soul." Seeing the frown on Ichigo's face, he said, "You don't believe me? That's what makes you Shinigami arrogant."

Ichigo protested, "We're not-"

Muramasa cut him however, "I exist because you are. I understand the Zanpakutō's way of thinking. I can reach out to their souls and those who commiserate with my plans take on their true form. The Zanpakutō who respond to my summons appear in this world as completely different entity from their Shinigami. That is my power."

"Why are the Zanpakutō listening to you?" Ichigo asked him.

"It is their desire, birthed from your oppression." He answered before he took notice of the struggling Rukia.

"Don't push yourself Shinigami, your job is done."

Rukia looked confused, "What do you...?"

"Do you think you escaped to the real world on your own?" He asked her, "I will free every last Zanpakutō from their Shinigami. There are no exceptions! In order for that to happen, I needed you to come to this world, Kurosaki Ichigo."

"You bastard, you had Rukia-!"

"Welcome to my world" Muramasa said cutting him off again.

"Ichigo..." Rukia murmured, he glanced at her and told her, "I'm fine, just stay there and rest and don't you dare beat yourself up over this. If his intention is truly to free all Zanpakutō, he would have come after me eventually."

He focused his attention back on Muramasa and said, "You won't get away with this. Let's change location."

"As you wish." With that they both vanished with Shunpo leaving Rukia on her own and with that she fell back into unconsciousness.

**Another part of Seireitei**

Muramasa shunpoed onto the top of a building and looked up as he saw Ichigo descending from the sky coming in for a downward strike. He summoned his blade into his left hand and raised it and blocked Ichigo's strike and threw him away with force. Ichigo landed on top of a wall before shooting towards him again and aimed a strike at his chest, but was blocked however Ichigo was the one that pushed Muramasa back. Once again, Ichigo charged Muramasa and engaged him in a blade lock and pushed him down to the ground level where they disengaged and Ichigo quickly swiped at his head. Muramasa dodged this however by jumping a few metres back, taking this moment of reprieve, Ichigo glanced at his surroundings.

He didn't know where he was but it was similar to the path the he and Ganju where chased by hordes of Shinigami. He also took notice of the sword Muramasa was using, it had a purple hilt-wrapping and a guard, consisting of a circle with a pentagon-like shape in the centre and three points protruding from the edges evenly spaced apart.

He returned his attention to the fight; he was still fighting in his sealed form as he was worried that if he released Zangetsu, then he would be susceptible to fall under Muramasa's influence. Muramasa raised his hand, palm facing Ichigo, however Ichigo wasn't interested in finding out what he was going to do and raised his sword straight in the air.

He swung it downwards as blue Reiatsu was released in a the form of a crescent moon however it broke apart when it collided with Muramasa's hand and he didn't even flinch.

Ichigo scowled, he was afraid that it was still too ineffective to use in battle, it was a Getsuga Tensho without the aid of Zangetsu and it was currently far too weak to be used. Once the smoke cleared from the impact, Ichigo's eyes widened as he noticed that Muramasa was nowhere in sight. He looked around but couldn't find him when all of a sudden everything started to become disorientated, and a voice spoke to him.

"Sheathe your Zanpakutō" Ichigo ignored it and started swinging in different areas without much success. If it wasn't bad before with everything seemed to be moving around him, now everything was upside down and it just kept spinning until he fell onto the floor, facing upward unable to move.

Muramasa suddenly appeared above him, and stepped on the hand Ichigo was using to hold onto his sword making Ichigo flinch in pain and releasing the sword. He then held his hand over Ichigo and said,

"Obey your instinct and break your soul free. Abandon your fear."

Reiatsu began to swirl under Ichigo, as Muramasa continued his chant, "Look forward. Move forward and never stop. You'll age if you pull back. You'll die if you hesitate."

Muramasa's hand suddenly pierced Ichigo's stomach causing him to yell out in pain as he felt a part of himself being ripped out of his body.

"Come and stop the rain Zangetsu!" Muramasa finished as he pulled a large thread of blue Reiatsu from Ichigo's body and it followed up with a large explosion of blue Reiatsu.

Ichigo got up groggily, grabbing his sheathed sword; at least things weren't spinning anymore however a voice a few metres away from him caught his attention.

_"Ichigo..."_

Ichigo looked up to see Zangetsu holding his sword that was in its usual Shikai form standing next to Muramasa, but before Ichigo could ask what he was doing here Zangetsu charged towards him. Ichigo quickly fell into a defensive position and blocked the attack but Zangetsu pushed him back a few metres. They engaged in a blade lock, trying to overpower the other and Ichigo asked him,

"Zangetsu! Old Man! What's going on?" Zangetsu remained silent however, annoying Ichigo, "Answer me!"

Zangetsu continued to remain silent as he began to put more pressure on Ichigo, who was starting to buckle under it, and much to his annoyance, he was using two hands and Zangetsu was only using one.

"Weren't we of one soul, one body? Shit!" Ichigo swore and forced all of his power and pushed Zangetsu back making him jump into the air but the second his feet hit the ground he used Shunpo.

He reappeared on Ichigo's left and Ichigo could only muster up the time to raise his sword to block his before he was sent into the wall hard. Amazingly, the wall didn't break and Ichigo slid down into onto the floor, grimacing in pain before looking up to see Zangetsu slashing downwards and sent out a wave of Reiatsu at Ichigo. He didn't have the time to put up a reasonable defence and once the attack hit him, this one did send him through the wall.

As rubble and smoke filled the place where the wall was, Ichigo was lying on his back and began to get up slowly as he contemplated on what he had to do. He was confident he could take on Zangetsu, but this wasn't Bankai training, he was worried what would happen if he killed him and was also worried if Zangetsu could use Bankai.

Just before he got up however, another voice spoke up in his head, a voice he thought he had vanquished forever.

"**King! I'm back!"**

His vision then went black.

**Inner World**

Ichigo opened his eyes and recognised that he was in his inner world but his attention was soon focus on the figure that was chuckling at the top of the building that he was standing on. His Hollow with his malicious grin was back.

Ichigo scowled at him, "What the hell are you doing here? I thought I looked you away for good?"

Hichigo just smirked at him, **"Now, now kingy, no need to get angry, I'll answer your questions but after I do we have to make a deal."**

"A deal?" Ichigo asked incredulously.

"**Yes, I can offer deals."** Hichigo said in annoyance, **"Now shut up and listen, as I am going to only explain this once. After you defeated me, I was locked underground unable to influence you at all."**

"Underground?"

"**Yes underground. Do you remember when the world was collapsing when you were turning into a hollow in the Shattered Shaft and you fell into the water?"**

Ichigo nodded and Hichigo continued, **"I have been trapped in there, of course I have tried getting out and the only way is up but it is like you are trapped in a box and you try to take the lid off. However it wouldn't budge an inch, so it was impossible for me to break out, until now. Have you figured it out?"**

Ichigo frowned and answered, "Zangetsu!"

Hichigo grinned, **"Yup! Zangetsu is the wall that separates us from each other. Remember what I told you, ****we are both fighting for the right of control over Zangetsu and our soul. Zangetsu is forced to support whoever won, no matter whom and because of him; I was unable to get out as you won the right to use him."**

"So with him gone, you can't be trapped underground." Ichigo frowned, this was not good, and he needed to get Zangetsu back.

"**Correct Ichigo, but there is some good news."**

"What's that?"

"**It means that if I 'killed' you right now and took control, it wouldn't matter because you can't be trapped either. It would be an endless cycle of battles and as much as I enjoy fighting, I really can't be fucked fighting over and over again with no results. So this is where the deal I was talking about comes in."**

"I'm listening."

Hichigo grinned at him and said**, "You and me fight for control one last time and the winner stays in control until we get Zangetsu back, but the loser also has to aid him in getting Zangetsu back."**

"Deal!"

**Soul Society**

Hichigo swung his sword at Zangetsu whom blocked and then pushed Hichigo away before Shunpoing away with the Hollow on his tail whilst Muramasa was confused at this recent development.

Zangetsu finally stopped at an ideal place to fight, it was a large pathway and down the edges of the path were a row of large pillars. It was the same place, Renji and Byakuya fought. Hichigo appeared and attacked Zangetsu but was unable to land a hit as Zangetsu dodge all of his attacks with ease; it was a much bigger difference fighting Hichigo in Ichigo's inner world was that version was smart.

After dodging a few more strikes, Zangetsu slashed Hichigo across the chest leaving a huge gash however it suddenly was covered in a white substance. A second later the white had vanished revealing a patch of skin unblemished.

_"High-speed Regeneration."_ Zangetsu muttered and followed up with a Shunpo, and reappeared a good ten metres behind him with sword in the air, slashing Hichigo's left shoulder on the way through.

With Hichigo now on the ground, Muramasa used this time to get Zangetsu to answer a question he wanted to ask.

"Is that Kurosaki Ichigo?"

_"That is another soul that resides within him, or should I say that it is the dark part of Ichigo's soul. Without me there, it can't be held back, so currently Ichigo is in his Inner World battling for control."_

With that information, Muramasa was able to conclude that he wouldn't be able to release the hollow from Ichigo's soul as it was just the darker part of Ichigo's soul and not a separate soul like a Zanpakutō.

Both Zangetsu and Muramasa took notice of the sudden large increase of hollow Reiatsu coming from Hichigo and saw that he was in his lizard form which meant that unless Ichigo won soon he would become a Hollow.

In his lizard form, Hichigo's attacks were much stronger and faster and Zangetsu had some trouble deflecting all of his attacks, until he received a cut on his left arm followed by a head butt in the stomach sent him flying. As he was flying back, Hichigo held out a hand and fired a Cero at Zangetsu; however Zangetsu attempted a wordless Getsuga to block it and was somewhat successful. The Cero didn't hit him but the explosion sent him head first into a pillar which collapsed from the force.

Muramasa suddenly appeared behind Hichigo and slashed at his exposed back but it was healed instantly and he quickly spun around slashing at Muramasa. Muramasa was able to block it but the force sent him flying for about 5 metres but landed without any trouble. Hichigo approached him slowly as Muramasa prepared to defend him when Hichigo suddenly stopped.

**Inner World**

Ichigo's left shoulder was bleeding slightly, along with his right cheek as he panted slightly whilst glaring at Hichigo whom didn't have any damage. It was just like when they fought each other when they first went Bankai, there was a large difference in their powers and Ichigo didn't understand how.

He had been training his ass off whilst his Hollow had been trapped underwater, so why couldn't he beat him. Hichigo suddenly appeared behind him and swung at his neck but Ichigo ducked under the swing and attempted to stab Hichigo in the stomach but Hichigo dodged it by leaping into the air and fired a cero at Ichigo. Ichigo was able to dodge thanks to his Shunpo but Hichigo read his movements and appeared behind him and slashed his back making Ichigo fall to his knee in pain but was immediately kicked into the stomach and sent into a building.

Ichigo got up groggily but collapsed onto one knee and scowled when he saw Hichigo was just above him with the tip of his blade a few centimetres from his face.

"**Looks like I win Ichigo"** Hichigo said gleefully making Ichigo glare at him heavier.

Why couldn't he beat him? What was the difference in their powers, it was like he had a backup power. It was then he noticed something, Hichigo was in a human form like himself, wielding a katana, but hollows weren't supposed to fight with a sword unless they were Arrancar and nor were hollow in human forms with the exception again being Arrancar. Then it hit him, and he couldn't believe that he hadn't seen it before, Hichigo was the dark side of his soul, but it was still **his** soul and he had won the right to use his hollow powers. That would explain why he was winning, Ichigo was just using his own power, while Hichigo was using his own and Ichigo's.

Hichigo spoke up as he raised his sword, **"This will only hurt for a moment Ichigo!"** With that, he swung his sword downwards aiming for Ichigo's head but Ichigo had other ideas.

He summoned the Hollow Reiatsu inside of him and with his left hand, he grabbed Hichigo's sword and held it tightly even though it was cutting into his hand. Hichigo looked shocked that Ichigo caught his swing but his eyes widened when he saw the hollow mask on Ichigo's face and before he could react, Ichigo stabbed his sword right through his chest.

Hichigo coughed up blood as Ichigo let go of Hichigo's blade, his mask crumbling away and he ripped his sword out of Hichigo's chest that had fallen to his knees.

"**Tsk, so you figured out you can use your mask."**

"Yeah, you conveniently left that little fact out you bastard. Now it's time you live up to your agreement."

Hichigo scowled at him, **"I'll keep my word King."**

Ichigo nodded, "I've got no choice but to trust you."

**Soul Society**

Hichigo roared in pain as blue Reiatsu burst out of him as his body started crumbling apart much to Muramasa's shock. After a huge explosion of Reiatsu all of the hollow hierro fell apart revealing a slightly banged up and panting Ichigo.

"So you have returned Kurosaki Ichigo" Muramasa stated as Ichigo glared at him, the damage he had received in his battle with Hichigo.

"**Put the mask on King!"** Hichigo told Ichigo and Muramasa looked on curiously as Ichigo's left hand raised to the front of his face and his eyes widen when he saw a Hollow mask materialize on his face.

"**Now gather your Hollow Reiatsu and cover your injuries with it."**

Ichigo focused all of his hollow Reiatsu on his injuries and was shocked to see them suddenly healed. However a voice from behind him made him spin around and prepare a defence.

_"Getsuga Tensho!"_

The crescent moon of blue Reiatsu hit Ichigo head on and Ichigo was trying to overpower it with his sword but was eventually forced to Shunpo away dodging the attack. However as he prepared to attack Zangetsu, his mask crumbled apart much to Hichigo's aggravation.

"**Dammit King! What the hell was that? You can only keep the mask on for that long!"**

"_Shut up!"_ Ichigo said to him and Hichigo groaned in frustration,

"**You really are pathetic King! I have half a mind to take over right now!"**

"_We made a deal remember! Don't go back on your word."_

Hichigo scoffed in annoyance, stupid deal, he never thought that he would actually lose and now he had to teach him how to use his power.

"**Ichigo, you fear my power too much, that is why it keeps crumbling so quickly. Hasn't Zangetsu lectured you before about what fear does to your power?"**

Ichigo nodded, _"Yeah, he says it weakens his power."_

"**And strengthens mine"** Hichigo reminded him, **"You have to use your hollow power the same you as you would with Zangetsu's power. You fear that using my power means that it gives me a chance to take over but you are mistaken, it's when you feel those heavy negative emotions that give me a chance to take over. " **

"_He was right"_ Ichigo thought to himself, he feared using his hollow powers in case he lost control and hurt someone he cared about or an innocent person. When he puts on the mask, the feeling of his body suddenly filled with hollow Reiatsu scared him, he felt at any second his hollow would take over. That was why his mask collapsed quickly, so his hollow didn't have the chance to take over. He no longer had a choice, if he wanted to get Zangetsu back; he had to master his hollow power.

"**Ya ready King?"**

"Yeah" Ichigo told him,

"**Now when ya put the mask on this time King, don't fight the hollow Reiatsu with your own, let them merge with each other."** Hichigo explained to him and Ichigo nodded before ripping on his mask and felt the surge of hollow Reiatsu flow through his body. This time, Ichigo crushed his natural instinct to repel it and listened to what Hichigo told him and let the hollow Reiatsu merge with his own instead of fighting back and began to fully understand just how much of power increase his hollow side gave him.

Zangetsu looked on curiously and asked the now masked Ichigo, _"Are you finally ready to begin Ichigo?"_

Ichigo clenched his fist and released some red and black Reiatsu and answered Zangetsu, **"Yeah, bring it!"**

Zangetsu shunpoed behind Ichigo and swung at Ichigo's back but Ichigo was astonished by how slow Zangetsu was now as he saw every step with ease. Ichigo calmly blocked Zangetsu swing with his sword without even turning around, and then pushed Zangetsu off, spun around and kicked Zangetsu in the stomach.

As Zangetsu went flying back towards a pillar, Hichigo spoke up, **"That's it King! Don't think of attacks to use, just use your instincts."**

Zangetsu was able to stop his flight just before he crashed into a pillar and slashed his sword downwards and said, _"Getsuga Tensho!"_

In response to the incoming wave of Reiatsu, Ichigo just raised his left hand and gathered as much of his hollow Reiatsu and it formed a small ball of red and black Reiatsu.

"**Cero!"** Ichigo commanded and released the ball of Reiatsu and shot a large blast of black and red Reiatsu at the Getsuga Tensho.

Both the attacks collided, exploded and finally dispersed revealing no winner but Ichigo shunpoed in front of Zangetsu and slashed downwards intending to slice Zangetsu's chest. Zangetsu was able to block it but Ichigo's strength forced him onto a knee but instead of continuing to overpower him, Ichigo again kicked him that sent him into a pillar.

Ichigo just stared as Zangetsu lifted himself out of the rubble and walked towards Ichigo slowly and stopped a few metres away and said,

_"So you are finally beginning to accept your hollow side Ichigo."_

"**Yeah, it's just like you said; I shouldn't fear my own power"**

_"So you do listen"_ Zangetsu said, _"I guess it is time to kick this up a notch Ichigo!"_

"**Huh?"**

Zangetsu pointed his blade at Ichigo and Ichigo's eyes widened at the stance as Zangetsu yelled out, _"Bankai!"_

Zangetsu surround in an explosion of blue Reiatsu and smoke and once it cleared, standing there with his sword pointing at Ichigo was Tensa Zangetsu.

_"So you have started to get used to your hollow powers Ichigo, it's about bloody time!"_

"**Shut up!"** Ichigo retorted making Tensa smirk at him before vanishing from sight as Ichigo's eyes widened in surprise. He dodged to the left just as Tensa attempted to stab him through the head, Ichigo swung his blade upward but hit nothing but air as Tensa disappeared again. Ichigo growled in annoyance and shunpoed away just as Tensa swung at his back, seeing that he missed, blue Reiatsu began to surround his blade and he swung it unleashing a wordless Getsuga. The direction of the attack went directly in the direction that Ichigo had shunpoed to and before he could react he was hit full on from the attack. Half of his mask was no broken off and from his right shoulder and arm, the Shihakushō was torn off.

"**Dammit!"** Ichigo swore, **"He is so fast, I can barely react to his attacks!"**

Tensa began to gather Reiatsu around his blade once again and this time as he unleashed it, he yelled out _"Getsuga Tensho!"_

The attack was twice as big as the previous one and also twice as fast, so Ichigo quickly retaliated with a full powered Cero but the Getsuga began slicing through the cero with no trouble. However it did exactly what Ichigo wanted it to do and that was slowing it down and both the attacks had blocked him from view and utilizing Shunpo he appeared directly behind Tensa Zangetsu. Tensa spun around in surprised to see Ichigo with only a quarter bit of his mask left that was covering his left eye and his palm facing towards him with a Cero charging.

"**Gotcha!"** Ichigo said and hit Tensa with a point blank Cero. Ichigo couldn't see the result of his attack as he felt the rest of his mask crumble away, he had used up all of his Reiatsu and was now panting heavily, and the sword in his hand felt like it weighed a ton.

Ichigo's eyes widened in shock however as he saw that there was a blue oval shield of Reiatsu in the spot where Tensa had been, before it faded revealing an unharmed Tensa Zangetsu. What was that shield? Ichigo himself had even used it before but he didn't understand how.

_"Nice try Ichigo"_ Tensa commented and Ichigo couldn't react in time to deflect Tensa's next attack, and blood burst out of his chest from the slash that started from his right shoulder down to his left hip. Ichigo collapsed face first into the ground and before he lost consciousness he heard Tensa say one final thing,

_"You still are not ready."_

Tensa Zangetsu continued to look down as Muramasa walked towards him and asked,

"Are you going to kill him?"

Tensa shook his head, _"No, he is finally beginning to understand that he has to accept his hollow side. That is my instinct, to make Ichigo as strong as possible and this is the way to do it."_

Muramasa nodded, Kurosaki Ichigo is just what he needed in order to release the Captain Commander.

**Like it Review it. Don't like it then don't read it.**

**Yes this is the beginning of the Rogue Zanpakutō arc, hopefully you enjoyed the way I am linking it to the canon story. This arc will be different from the anime however as it has to cover certain purposes and has the potential for some character development. Most Shinigami will fight their own Zanpakutō and each will have their own reasons for wanting to leave and the Shinigami will have to prove themselves in order to get them back. We have seen why Sode no Shirayuki wanted to leave and how Rukia won her back, I'm sure most of you know why Zangetsu left; it gives Ichigo the chance to learn how to use his Hollow side.**

**I also want ideas for Kenpachi's Zanpakutō as he will confront it in this arc.**

**Bakudō # 4. **Hainawa _(__Crawling Rope__)_

**Bakudō # 39.** Enkōsen _(__Round Lock Fan__)_

**Bakudō #61. **Rikujōkōrō _(__Six Rods Prison of Light)_

**Hadō #11. **Tsuzuri Raiden _(__Bound Lightning__)_

**Hadō #33. **Sōkatsui _(__Blue Fire, Crash Down)_

**Hadō #73. **Sōren Sōkatsui _(__Twin Lotus Blue Fire, Crash Down__)_

**Tsugi no mai, Hakuren** _(__Next Dance, White Ripple)_

**Next Chapter: The Zanpakutō Rebellion.**

**Order of story updates after this chapter:**

**Descending into Darkness**

**A Second Chance**

**Rise of a Legend**

**Spectacular Spider-Man**

**Tensa Zangetsu's True Power**

**I**

**T**

**I**

**S**

**T**

**I**

**M**

**E**

**F**

**O**

**R**

**S**

**P**

**O**

**I**

**L**

**E**

**R**

**Ichigo's Bankai is mad as, I love his Tensa Zangetsu sword and I enjoyed the fight between him and Ginjo.**

**I have to say though; my favourite was the Byakuya vs. Tsukishima, that fight was sweet.**

**Visored's are back in Soul Society huh? I wonder if it is all of them or just Kensei, Rose and Shinji. **


	5. Tensa Zangetsu vs Ichigo

**Disclaimer: I Don't Own Bleach**

**I am in desperate need for help, can anyone give me a website or name of a program that can translate Japanese Kanji into the pronunciation and the English meaning?  
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**Chapter 5 – Tensa Zangetsu vs. Ichigo**

Shūhei Hisagi, the current Vice-Captain of the 9th Squad, was currently receiving scouting reports about the damage that Seireitei had received so far. He was a tall and lean-built man with dark gray eyes and short black hair and three scars straight over his eye that lead down to his right cheek. He also had the number "69" tattooed on his left cheek, as well as a blue-striped tattoo running across his left cheek and over the bridge of his nose. He wore a choker around his throat and matching armbands on both upper arms, he wore a sleeveless Shihakushō, and had his lieutenant insignia tied to his left arm.

While looking over the reports, he felt a breeze which slowly started to become stronger which drew his attention away from his reports. Suddenly a large tornado appeared from around the corner and before Hisagi knew it, the two Shinigami that gave him the report we unconscious on the ground and both of them had large gashes on their shoulders.

"Wait, those aren't normal wounds." Hisagi said to himself as he inspected their injuries and turned his attention to the tornado, "That sword's much faster and sharper than a normal one. There is only one person I can think of whom attacks like that. Dam you"

The tornado stopped revealing the form of a thin yet well-toned dark man with long black hair, resembling a shadow, with dark grey strips of cloth wrapping around his lower body, arms, neck, and shoulders. The weapon in his hands took the form of two Kusarigama-like weapons, each with two scythe blades, with one inverted, giving it the resemblance of a pinwheel. The blades were connected to a spiked rod tethered together by a long chain.

"Kazeshini, huh?" Hisagi murmured and Kazeshini grinned evilly and replied, "Very observant, pardner."

Hisagi was all of a sudden force to duck backwards as Kazeshini threw one of his blades followed by the other and Hisagi used Shunpo to dodge it. Using the chain, Kazeshini was able to pull both blades back into his hands and began chasing Hisagi who was leading him away to an area where he couldn't hurt anyone.

"Dammit... His sword is so fast." Hisagi muttered as he ran along a roof, until he felt something move past him and suddenly both blades were heading straight towards him. He dived to the left off the roof and prepared to land feet first when he saw the blades were already below him and they spun up towards him. He had to back flip in mid air to dodge them but he was nicked slightly on the leg and when he landed on his feet, he fell onto one knee panting. He looked up to see the tornado appear in front of him again and Kazeshini appeared before him grinning.

"I can't believe I just cut you. You really are nothing without me, huh?" Kazeshini said as he slowly walked towards his Shinigami.

"Yeah, right. Your power comes from me!" Hisagi rebutted whilst Kazeshini just scoffed, "Really? You sure that ain't just some bullshit you came up with?"

"What did you say?"

"You don't know what my inner desires are"

"What are you trying to say? Why did you leave me?" Hisagi questioned.

"I heard a voice." Kazeshini replied, "It said, 'follow your instincts.'"

"Your... instincts?"

"Yup! You don't know a dam thing about me! Or what my blade truly desires!" Kazeshini told him as he raised one of his scythes and pointed it at Hisagi.

"What do you mean?"

"I guess you never liked the shape of these blades." He said as he admired his scythe and held it upside down, "But take a closer look at them. They're perfect for reaping lives."

Hisagi's eyes widened as Kazeshini continued his attack.

**4****th**** Squad**

Ichigo painfully opened his eyes and struggled to recognise his surroundings as he tried to sit up but a hand on his shoulder stopped him and a soothing voice said,

"Easy, you are still injured."

The blurriness that covered his vision as he saw that he was lying on a bed in a small room that was occupied by Unohana, Kyōraku and Ukitake.

"_I must be in the 4__th__ Squad"_ Ichigo thought to himself as he felt the area where Tensa had slashed him and winced in pain as the healed wound was still tender.

"What happened?"

The three glanced at each other and Ukitake answered, "I headed out to Rukia once I felt her Reiatsu weaken and found her lying in a crater live but unconscious. So I brought her here for Unohana-Taicho to heal her when I felt your Reiatsu weakened but before I headed out to your location, Kyōraku went."

Kyōraku nodded, "I found you on the ground with a deep slash across your chest and brought you back here immediately and Unohana-Taicho discovered something as she healed you."

Ichigo just looked on calmly at their explanations but mentally he was panicking, _"Dammit, did they find out about my Inner Hollow? I wanted to keep this hidden from Soul Society."_

He knew Byakuya knew for obvious reasons, and that he had told Rukia, in order for her to be aware as she was close to him but he knew that he wouldn't tell the rest of Soul Society. Byakuya was a prideful man, and Ichigo knew that Byakuya was indebted to him and by not telling the other captain's bout his inner hollow, he was repaying him.

"Go on" Ichigo told them and braced himself at the serious look all three were giving him.

"When I was restoring your Reiatsu" Unohana explained, "I discovered another source of Reiatsu inside of you, one of that of a Hollow's."

Ichigo sighed and told everything about how he lost Rukia's powers and then went underwent his own training from Urahara and the process that was used in order to get his own powers. He then told him about his training with his Hollow powers and made sure to tell them all of his training was with Urahara. This enabled him to keep his promise to Hirako and the other Visored's. Finally he told them about how he finally learned how to control his hollow powers and his fight with Zangetsu.

All three captains accepted this much to Ichigo's relief, they believed that he didn't actively try to get Hollow powers.

"So even with your Hollow powers, your Zanpakutō was still stronger than you." Ukitake acknowledged but Ichigo shook his head in denial.

"No, without my mask, I would be even with Zangetsu and with my mask I know I am as strong and fast as Tensa Zangetsu. The reason I lost is actually pretty simple, I was afraid of what would happen if I killed him, at the last moment, instead of striking him with my blade, I charged a cero giving him time to defend. Zangetsu was stronger when I fought him in order to achieve Bankai, they say that we aren't as strong without them, well it's the same for them, and they need us as much as we need them."

"I see" Kyōraku murmured and then smiled brightly, "Well we have good news on that front."

"What do you mean?" Ichigo asked in confusion.

"Abarai Renji already defeated his Zanpakutō along with Kuchiki Rukia and both have informed us, that when the owner of the Zanpakutō strikes it down, it will return to them." Unohana told him.

"What about the real world? Right now if Aizen attacks we are pretty much doomed"

"It's ok Ichigo-kun." Ukitake told him and seeing Ichigo's confusion he explained further, "Urahara-san says that he can hold the fort for now, he claims he has a plan should Arrancar invade."

"I see" Ichigo said,

"_The Visored must be helping him"_ He thought to himself and then perked up as he remembered what Unohana said moments ago and asked, "Rukia? Is she ok?"

"She is fine Ichigo-Kun" Ukitake told him, "She is resting right now, her wounds are still not fully healed but all she needs now is rest."

Ichigo nodded, "That's good."

"Speaking of rest, you will have to rest a bit longer before you are fully healed." Unohana told him which of course Ichigo protested,

"What? I am fine, I have to go out and find –." He never got to finish however as he was hit full force by Unohana's 'you will do what you are told' smile making him freeze in fear, Ukitake and Kyōraku both shuddered in the background, glad it wasn't aimed at them.

"You will stay and rest" She told him and he agreed immediately.

**Forest **

Hisagi continued to flee in order to lure Kazeshini away from innocent bystanders and eventually lead him into a forest area near the 9th Squad barracks. He was currently running down the path in the forest when he heard a voice that seemed t surround him,

"What is running all you can do now?"

Hisagi glanced to his left and noticed one of his scythes shoot out of the leaves heading straight towards him; he jumped as it cut into the ground and Shunpoed onto a thick branch.

"You sure you have time for such a long breather?"

Hisagi's eyes widened as he sensed something approach from behind and he leaped forward as a scythe destroyed the branch he was standing on. However he missed the other scythe that was heading towards him and received a large gash on the fore arm and in response he Shunpoed back onto the ground.

"Hiding in trees and throwing weapons at me, huh? You already looked like a sneaky bastard, I see you fight like one, too!" Hisagi told him annoyed.

"Sneaky? So what?" Kazeshini said as Hisagi still couldn't locate where his voice was coming from, "What's that got to do with life and death?"

"It's not how I fight" Hisagi answered and Kazeshini scoffed in response,

"I'm well aware of that. Look, I'm a Zanpakutō whose only purpose is to end lives. I don't give a rat's ass about my ex-wielder's fighting style."

"I always thought that Shinigami and their Zanpakutō... were supposed to understand one another and agree on things like that." Hisagi said and spun around as he heard a tree being destroyed and block the scythe that attempted to kill him. However he had two hands on his sword and was unable to block the other scythe that attacked from behind and slashed his back. He fell forward onto his knees in pain as both scythes vanished again.

"If that works for other Zanpakutō, fine! I am who I am. I end lives. I made a pact with you thinking you'd use me for that end."

"Oh, really?" Hisagi asked and then declared, "Then that simplifies things. I don't care if you die and the Zanpakutō Kazeshini disappears forever. I have accepted the fact that... you utterly disgust me."

"Excellent" Kazeshini stated and Hisagi's eyes widened as the voice came from right behind him, "Same here."

Hisagi spun around and immediately took half a step back but was still slashed by Kazeshini from the left hip up to the right shoulder but fortunately thanks to his half step back it wasn't as deep as Kazeshini intended. Hisagi then used Shunpo to dodge Kazeshini's next attack and reappeared behind him panting slightly, holding his wound.

Coming up with a plan, now that Kazeshini was in sight, Hisagi fell to his knees as Kazeshini grinned and said,

"Dodged the fatal blow at the last second, huh?"

Kazeshini walked towards him and mocked him, "You're such a dumbass. An instant death would have been painless." He stopped right in front of him and pointed one of his scythes and told him,

"Ahh, whatever. You are dead now anyway!" He held up one the scythes in the air, "How I have longed to be the one to reap you!" With that he swung it down but while Kazeshini had been boasting, Hisagi was preparing an attack.

He held out his hand and shouted, "Hadō #31: Shakkahō!"

He fired the small red orb at the surprised Kazeshini and hit him in the chest making him yelp in pain as he stumbled back and Hisagi, using this distraction, got to his feet and utilized Shunpo. He flashed stepped past Kazeshini and sliced his right shoulder and appeared behind him, raised his hand and yelled,

"Bakudō #63: Sajō Sabaku!"

A yellow energy rope that looks like thick chains appeared out of mid air and wrapped tightly around Kazeshini's torso as Hisagi closed his fist, he made sure that both of Kazeshini's arms were bound.

Kazeshini fell face first to the ground and struggled to break out of the bindings and glared at his ex-wielder whilst Hisagi stood there panting slightly as he began gathering his Reiatsu as his next attack was going to cost him.

"Bakudō #75: Gochūtekkan!"

Five incredibly tall and thick pillars, which were connected to each other by chains, were summoned in mid air above Kazeshini before landing right on top of him. One on each leg, one on each shoulder blade, and one smack in the middle of his back.

Hisagi fell to his knees for real this time as he panted heavily, while Kazeshini could no longer move an inch and settled on glaring hatefully at Hisagi.

"I fucking hate you!" Kazeshini roared at him, "I will fucking kill you I swear to whatever Kami's are out there!"

Hisagi just looked at him indifferently but inside he winced, he didn't understand why the comment hurt so much. He hated his sword, a sword that only wanted to kill, and a sword that made him fear his own power and so he couldn't help but wonder why the comment stung.

Even though he hated him, Kazeshini could still see through him and saw that his comment struck something in him. It was time he expressed the reasons for his disgust of his partnership with Hisagi.

"I was so excited when you finally heard my name."Kazeshini told him softly much to Hisagi's surprise, every since they met they hated each other but were forced to work together.

"It didn't matter to me how much you hated me or the shape of my sword, as long as I got to fight and kill I would gladly give you my power. I helped in your training on how to use my sword, even though I gained nothing from it, I knew that you had to be able to use me effectively so I could taste the blood of your enemies. However thanks to that fucking former captain of yours, you began to fear me and stop using me, every fight you would use your sealed katana or Kido in order to defeat your opponents but not me! It was then when I began to hate you and realise just how pathetic you really were!"

"All of those opponents were weaker than me, there was no need for me to use you and watch what you say about Tōsen-Taicho, he taught me a lot and I will bring him back to his senses!" Hisagi retorted.

"I don't care!" Kazeshini growled, "I don't care if they are strong or weak, when you fought an opponent you had to kill, I wanted to be used! I wanted to fight! Also that Taicho that you admired so much made you weak! By fearing your own power, you weakened yourself! A Shinigami can only grow stronger as their bond with their Zanpakutō grew stronger, yet thanks to your Taicho who was never on Soul Society's side to begin with, you stayed weak!"

Hisagi looked away, while he didn't believe that his Taicho intentionally made him weak, he was starting to feel like a jerk for denying the one thing his Zanpakutō wanted. He walked towards the immobile Kazeshini whilst looking deep inside of his soul for the power of his Zanpakutō, as he truly didn't know if it had left him.

He lifted his sword and stabbed Kazeshini through the neck much to Kazeshini's displeasure and it was then Hisagi found what he was looking for. He pulled the power out and whispered,

"Reap, Kazeshini"

In a flash of light, Hisagi's katana transformed into the same pair of scythes that Kazeshini were using and reaped his own Zanpakutō. The Bakudō's faded away as Hisagi resealed his sword and left leaving behind Kazeshini's corpse but just before he left the area; he glanced back and was surprised to see it gone. He felt a familiar presence inside of him again and groaned when he realised was back but he knew that he was needed to bring Tōsen back, so to appease his Zanpakutō he agreed to let him out every time he fought.

He sensed a familiar figure approaching and moments later he had arrived a few metres from him.

The man had blue eyes and shoulder-length blond hair that was combed into three points, with two in the back of his head and a third combed to cover his left eye. He also wore the standard Shinigami robes and the 3rd Division's Fukutaicho armband on his left arm, his name was Izuru Kira.

"I was just on my way to help you but it looks like you didn't need it." Kira acknowledged.

"No but thanks anyway." Hisagi told him, knowing that if he hadn't taken that half step back earlier, then he would have been in critical and desperate for help.

**Later that night**

Ichigo finally had gotten out of the infirmary; he had visited Rukia whom had expressed concern over Byakuya's whereabouts and Ichigo assured her that he would look for him. That promise seemed to brighten her up and now he found himself with Ikkaku on the lookout for Byakuya or in Ikkaku's case, a good fight.

However they both caught on to a sudden rise of Reiatsu and concluded that there was a fight going on and headed in that direction. Moments later they came across a wall that was blocking them and they would have no trouble jumping over, so Ichigo did the only logical thing; he kicked a large hole through the wall. The part that was broke off from Ichigo smashed into some fat Shinigami of no importance (Ōmaeda) making Ichigo comment,

"Crap, hit the wrong one."

"Yup! But it's just Ōmaeda so no one cares." Ikkaku told him as he walked into the area before glancing at the Zanpakutō they would be facing, "But I'm surprised we stumbled upon some Zanpakutō here. This is perfect. I'll show you the results of my training!"

"What's with you two?" The fat one said angrily, he was a shirtless obese man with a barely visible nose, giving him somewhat of a frog-like face. He had red hair kept in five sets of spikes and wore a cape. He had a crescent moon shaped scar located above his chest and had a piercing towards the right side of his lower lip.

The other Zanpakutō charged Ikkaku and swung it's pear downward forcing Ikkaku to block with both his sword and sheath.

"I was wanting to see you, partner." He said, he was large man resembling an oni with dark brown skin and long messy orange hair. He was shirtless and wears a white robe in the form of a skirt, revealing a tattoo on his shoulders in a design similar to the dragon symbol on Ikkaku's Bankai. He also appeared to have red markings under his eyes.

"What did you say?" Ikkaku asked before glancing up at his weapon and his eyes widen when he saw it was a spear with a wax wood shaft with a pommel that has a red horsehair tassel.

Ichigo just looked on dumbfounded as Ikkaku and his Zanpakutō, Hōzukimaru as they did some type of weird dance.

"What're you doing?" He asked them.

"Don't tell me that you forgot Ichigo?" Ikkaku asked exasperatedly, "That was my lucky dance! I showed it to you the first time we fought!"

"You did?" Ichigo asked rubbing the back of his head with a confused look on his face.

Ikkaku just gave up and turned his attention back to Hōzukimaru, while Ichigo just muttered to himself, "I think I hurt his feelings"

"You're open!" Someone yelled behind Ichigo as he spun around as the other Zanpakutō throw his weapon at him which was a large spiked-ball with a chain that the user held. Using Shunpo he jumped onto the wall and dodged the attack as the Zanpakutō began complaining,

"Man it missed."

"Hey! What's with the surprise attack?" Ichigo asked annoyed.

"It's your own fault for goofing off during a fight."

"Bastard" Ichigo muttered as he look at his opponents weapon in confusion, he had seen that somewhere but couldn't remember where.

"What's your name?"

"Gegetsuburi"

That also seemed familiar to him and his eyes widened, now he remembered, it was at Rukia's execution and that one Fukutaicho used that weapon and he smashed it in one punch.

"Oi Gegetsuburi, you are a jerk" Ichigo told him, knowing full well it would provoke him.

"Who cares as long as you win!" Gegetsuburi replied as he threw the large spiked ball at Ichigo again, but Ichigo began gathering Reiatsu into his fist just like back at Rukia's execution. As the ball closed in, Ichigo threw back his fist and punched it as hard as he could and the ball shattered on impact much to Gegetsuburi's despair.

However it didn't go according to plan as Ichigo's hand burst into pain making him yelp as he realised he had broken the bones in his hand.

"_What the fuck? That didn't happen last time!"_ He thought to himself and for the first time today his Hollow spoke up,

"**You dumbass, the last time the ball wasn't moving through air, it didn't have any force behind it but at Sōkyoku Hill it was motionless in his hands."**

"_Oh, that makes sense."_

"**Tch, how the hell have I lost to an idiot like you twice?"**

"_Shut up" _Ichigo said annoyed as he pulled out his sword and shunpoed behind Gegetsuburi and with the hilt of his sword, knocking him out.

"That was easy" Ichigo sighed but was surprised to see Ikkaku fly past him and crash into some stairs.

"Hey Ikkaku, you alright?"

"What's this?" Hōzukimaru asked from behind Ichigo catching his attention, "Is that all you've got?"

It was then Ichigo noticed something, this was Ikkaku's Zanpakutō so that must mean that Ikkaku knew Bankai. He was holding three over-sized weapons that were connected by an equally large chain. The two main weapons were a Chinese Monk's spade and a standard Guan Dao and both have a traditional horsehair tassel at the hilt and a long cylindrical weight for a pommel. The pommels were connected by a heavy chain to the centre section, which resembled an axe-like blade with a parallel handle forged into the blunt end and a dragon crest on one side of the blade.

"Don't interfere Ichigo" Ikkaku told him as he got off the now rubble that used to be stairs, "This is my fight."

Just as Ikkaku and Hōzukimaru began charging at each other, Soifon appeared and yelled, "That's far enough!"

Hōzukimaru was soon surrounded by the Onmitsukidō and along with Soifon, Ukitake and Kyōraku arrived.

"We've secured the area. Sorry, but your work's done here." Kyōraku informed them much to Ikkaku's protest.

"Just a sec here, Kyōraku-Tachio! This is my fight!"

Hōzukimaru scoffed and dropped his blades in annoyance and folded his arms across his chest, "This isn't fun anymore."

"What?" Ikkaku exclaimed.

"We're done for today."

"There is no way in hell-." Ikkaku argued but Hōzukimaru grabbed the centre blade and began spinning that started creating dust to rise into the air and Soifon ordered the Onmitsukidō to restrain him.

However as they charged in to attempt it, Hōzukimaru slammed the blade into the ground and it erupted into a large explosion of Reiatsu that sent the Onmitsukidō flying. Once the explosion cleared, it revealed that he had escaped much to Ikkaku's frustration at being denied the right to fight his Zanpakutō.

"After him! Don't let him escape!" Soifon commanded her units but Ukitake just told her,

"He's gone. His Reiatsu's completely vanished."

Soifon scowled but one of her subordinates shouted for her attention and she looked up to the roof where the voice had come from and saw that they had Gegetsuburi tied up.

"What should we do with him? Should we give him back to Fukutaicho Ōmaeda?" The subordinate asked.

"Where's Ōmaeda?" Soifon questioned.

"Over here" Was the reply and she looked over to where Ōmaeda was lying unconscious and Soifon told them, "Just dump him somewhere"

"My aren't you a harsh one?" Kyōraku commented.

"I think we should let the Technological Research Bureau take a look at that Zanpakutō." Ukitake said.

Soifon spun around indifferently and agreed, "That's fine"

With that, Soifon shunpoed away and suddenly Ukitake realised something and asked Kyōraku, "Oh, where did Ichigo-kun go?"

"Isn't that obvious?" Kyōraku replied rhetorically.

While all that was going on, Ichigo was currently chasing Hōzukimaru and noted to himself that he wasn't in great condition with his broken hand and so he summoned his mask. He focused his Hollow Reiatsu to his broken hand and sighed in relief as he felt it heal and the pain subside. With that out of the way, he ripped off his mask and focused on catching up with Hōzukimaru.

"Don't think you can get away!" Ichigo yelled out to him as he saw Hōzukimaru glance behind him, but Ichigo was shocked when suddenly his left cheek was cut. To his horror he saw a large gathering of Sakura petals fly past Hōzukimaru and head straight towards him, he used his sword but it was ineffective so he only had one choice.

He pulled on his mask and using his increased Reiatsu he blasted all of the petals away from him and then he sensed a familiar figure and looked up to see a man standing at the top of a tower. The figure disappeared using Shunpo but not before Ichigo recognised him, his eyes widen and whispered in disbelief,

"**Byakuya?" **

**Forest outside of Seireitei **

Ichigo was following the slight trail of Reiatsu that Byakuya had left, whilst he was much better at sensing Reiatsu, he still had a feeling that he was going in the wrong direction. He was forced to stop running however as he noticed someone had suddenly appeared in front of him and noticed that it was a girl.

"Good evening" She said, she was a young girl dressed in a white kimono jacket and purple hakama. She also wore a light yellow obi tied in a bow around her waist with two long ribbons on the end and carried two large round bells, such as the ones used in temples, tied to the long pink sash that encircled her body. She had long brown hair with a cylinder-shaped clip on one individual bang and wears a hairpin.

Suddenly another female appeared behind her and said annoyed, "Hey, you ditched me again!"

The other that had just appeared was in the form of a werecat with peach skin, turquoise eyes, and maroon chin-length hair. While looking mostly humanoid, she possessed a tail, cat ears and pink fur over her body. The fur covering her upper body functioned as a rather provocative shirt, not covering her shoulders and mid-section, while the fur on her left leg appears as sort of stocking, and puffy shorts that extend mid-thigh. She also had sharp claws for nails.

"Who are you two?" Ichigo asked frustrated, he had no time for these two, he had to find Byakuya and find out what the hell is going on with him and also he had to find Zangetsu and not to mention Muramasa.

"You're Kurosaki Ichigo, aren't you?" The werecat asked him.

"How do you know that?" He asked curiously.

They both separated, each walking towards a side of Ichigo and the werecat claimed, "Well, I've got dibs on him."

The young girl scoffed, "I really hate that about you. You jump on every guy you run across. It's pathetic!"

"Yup! Too bad" She responded and then held out her hand towards Ichigo and said, "Growl, Haineko!"

Following that command she blew into her hand and a cloud of ash appeared out of it and wrapped around Ichigo.

Ichigo pulled out his Katana and swung it downwards and shouted, "Getsuga Tensho!"

The Getsuga that burst from Ichigo's sword was able to break apart that cloud of ash but he scowled heavily afterwards as he used more Reiatsu than he wanted to.

"_That was much weaker then Byakuya's Senbonzakura, so that Getsuga was good enough but still using Getsuga without Zangetsu's help is just a waste of time. Note to self, once this whole Zanpakutō rebellion is over, learn some fucking Kido!"_

He looked towards his two opponents and noticed that they were arguing about whom the better looking one was and so Ichigo use this distraction to run away before he was forced to expend more Reiatsu.

"Don't run away" The werecat, Haineko yelled, "You're absolute scum to turn down a lady and embarrass her after getting asked out."

She unleashed her cloud of ash at Ichigo again but he dodged it and the young girl swung her bells around and fired to fire balls at Ichigo and once again he dodged them. However Haineko appeared in front of him, cutting Ichigo off, making him sigh in resignation.

"I guess I have no choice."

"Stop it! Both of you!"

Ichigo looked to his right and saw that Matsumoto and another girl with her that was a similar height to Rukia and Ichigo assumed that the small girl that had been attacking him was her Zanpakutō. She had brown eyes, and wore standard Shinigami robes with her black hair pulled into a bun held in a tied cloth. She wore the 5th Squad's Fukutaicho armband on her left arm.

They shunpoed next to Ichigo, both facing their respective Zanpakutō and Matsumoto asked Ichigo, "Do you mind if we cut in Ichigo?"

"We have to fight them." The 5th Squad Fukutaicho spoke up, "Please!"

Ichigo smirked, thank god that these two turned up, "Gladly"

He shunpoed away as both Shinigami prepared to battle their Zanpakutō. Matsumoto and Haineko began arguing with each other about their looks and age whilst Hinamori told her Zanpakutō,

"I've missed you Tobiume."

"I haven't missed you."

Hinamori looked shocked, "Why not? You used to fret so much over me. We trusted each other, remember?"

"I don't care to waste any more of my time with a weakling like you."

Hinamori's eyes widened for a second but stayed silent as Tobiume continued,

"You know longer have it in you to continue being a Shinigami. Your too soft and weak, to hurt from the betrayal of your Taicho."

Hinamori's eyes flashed with hurt and anger and told her, "That's not true; I am still strong enough to be a Shinigami."

"Then why is the 5th Squad falling apart!" Tobiume retorted as Hinamori's eyes widened but Tobiume took no notice as she continued, "If you truly believe that you can continue being a Shinigami; then cut me down!"

With that, there battle began.

**Infirmary**

Rukia sighed as she continued to lie in bed, looking out the window, it wouldn't be until tomorrow morning that she would be allowed out of here and the fact that she was worried about Byakuya and Ichigo didn't help things. Not only that, she was worried about many other things such as her friends in the living world, if Ichigo was then the defence in Karakura town was weakened significantly. Also with this Zanpakutō rebellion, Soul Society didn't have the strength to withstand and attack from Aizen and his army of Arrancar.

As she dwelled on her thoughts she didn't hear the door open and their stood Renji and he was quite annoyed by the fact he hadn't been acknowledge yet. He grabbed a magazine from the table by the bedside and suppressed a wince when he saw it was full of Chappy stuff, rolled it up and smacked her hard on the head with it.

"OW!" Rukia yelled and then glared furiously at the now snickering Renji.

"What hell was that for Renji?

"You were lost in thought. What were you thinking about? The upcoming war? Or this Zanpakutō rebellion? Or is it about your friends in Karakura? Or is it about a guy?" He asked her but before she could answer, Renji gasped in mock horror, "Kuchiki Rukia has a crush on someone! The world is ending!"

If somewhere to ask him if he ever teased Rukia about a guy she likes he would have denied it immediately because of his feelings for her. Back then, the thought of Rukia being with a guy other than him made him sick and angry at the same time but now things had changed. Ever since they restored their friendship after the whole Rukia execution fiasco, he discovered that he was no longer attracted to her as he realised how much he cherished their friendship. The thought of developing that into something more no longer interested him and even if he did, then he didn't deserve to be with her after the 40 years of silence between them.

Rukia flushed red at Renji's declaration and punched him in the stomach as hard as she could which made him groan in pain before she punched him in the face which sent him into the ground.

"Where the hell did you get that idea from you bastard! And if by the off chance that I did have a crush, then how is that the end of the world!" Rukia yelled at him but Renji quickly shrugged off the hits and stood back up and made sure that he was out of Rukia's hitting range with a grin on his face.

"I was just teasing you but with the way you reacted, maybe you are in too much denial"

Rukia narrowed her eyes at him, "What are you implying?"

"That you are thinking of your favourite food; Strawberries. Wait no, I mean just Strawberry." His grin widened when he saw her blush in embarrassment as she caught on to what he was referring to.

"I do not have a crush on Ichigo!" Rukia denied vehemently.

"I think you do, you sleep in his closet and are very sensitive to his Reiatsu as you were the only one that was able to sense him when nobody else could. Not only that he stormed into Soul Society just to rescue you, he is your knight in shining armour." Renji teased her and chuckled at how red her face was becoming, he would have to tease Ichigo like this later, and he could imagine Ichigo's reaction. However his chuckling stopped as he was frozen stiff from the glare he got from Rukia, she had been able to regain her composure and now was looking at him with the Kuchiki glare.

"I do not have crush on Ichigo!" She told him with a deadly whisper and he nodded hastily, but mentally he knew that he was right, she was just too stubborn to admit it.

Now that had been cleared up, Rukia turned her attention back to the window and Renji had a feeling he knew what was bothering her.

"Don't worry Rukia, Kuchiki-Taicho is far too strong to be defeated and the only reason why he lost a fight recently was because his heart was in turmoil as he told you. And while Ichigo is a bastard, he is a strong bastard so you don't have to worry about him either." Renji told her reassuringly and he could see the gratefulness in her eyes as she thanked him.

However seeing that grateful look made him mentally flinch, since they fixed their friendship, there was still one thing he had to do.

"I'm sorry" He told her and she looked startled and opened her mouth to speak but he cut her off, "No you deserve to hear this. You know how we grew up Rukia, how much we had to struggle and what we lost. Then when you were adopted into the Kuchiki family, I felt so inferior; someone like me didn't deserve to have a friendship with you. I know that formalities mean nothing to you among friends, but I didn't want me to impact your standing with your family negatively like I knew it would. So I swore to myself that I would surpass Kuchiki-Taicho that way your family couldn't look upon negatively on our friendship. However it was thanks to Ichigo that I was able to see reason, when they announced you to be executed, I didn't know what to do. Do I stick by Soul Society's laws? Or do I break them and save a friend that I felt to inferior to remain friends with? I was so confused, but after fighting Ichigo, seeing his resolve and almost dying I found my decision. I knew that if I let you die then I wouldn't be able to live with myself but I accepted death as long as I made an attempt to rescue you."

When Renji was finished, Rukia was looking at him with wide eyes; she had never known that his reason for ending their friendship was so deep. At the time she believed that he stopped being friends with her because she was adopted into a noble family, he had despised the noble families as they looked down on those who weren't. It hurt her deeply but thanks to Kaien she was able to move on in life but she always missed Renji's friendship.

"It's ok Renji, I forgive you and all that matters now is that we are friends again." Rukia told him and he smiled back and replied,

"Yeah, that is all that matters."

**Forest**

"ACHOO!" Ichigo sneezed as he continued running looking for Muramasa, Byakuya or Zangetsu; he had just left a very cold situation at being put in the middle of Tōshirō's and his Zanpakutō, Hyōrinmaru's battle. Funnily enough, Hyōrinmaru had lost his memory and Tōshirō had to prove that he was his owner and in the end, he was able to prove it.

Ichigo swore that if he got a cold or the flu then he would kill Tōshirō, however as he kept running all of a sudden Matsumoto appeared in front of him and he crashed into her.

"Are you ok Rangiku-san?" Hinamori asked her seeing her sitting on top of Ichigo.

"Yeah, that didn't hurt a bit." Matsumoto answered as Ichigo decided to remind her who she was sitting on.

"This isn't okay! Look down!"

Matsumoto seemed surprised at their positioning and asked him, "Oh, hi, Ichigo! What are you doing down there? That shouldn't have hurt too badly."

"Whatever, just get off! You're heavy!"

Matsumoto scowled and hit him in the back of the head and retorted angrily, "Excuse me? You should never say that to a lady!"

After she got off of him, they asked him if he knew about what happened to Tōshirō as they sensed his Reiatsu disappear and Ichigo told him that he was fine and that he had got his Zanpakutō back. Ichigo then questioned them about their fight with their Zanpakutō and they told him they worked together and captured them. Instead of killing them, they let them be taken to the 12th Squad to see if there was a way to reverse it without fighting.

Their conversation was interrupted however as they sensed a familiar presence up ahead and they went to check it out and discovered it was coming from some ruins. They were surprised to see Muramasa on his knees panting and Ichigo withdrew his sword and caught Muramasa's attention by saying,

"Yo. We meet again"

Muramasa glanced at Ichigo and informed him, "I knew you would come, Kurosaki Ichigo"

Ichigo just raised an eyebrow, "Oh? Well I have to admit, you weren't the one I was hoping to find but I guess I can just end this rebellion here."

"I believe we must be deeply connected by fate somehow."

"Deeply connected?" Ichigo asked.

"That's right. I believe you will be most useful in helping me achieve my goals. You can feel it, too, cant you?"

"Whatever" Ichigo scoffed, "All I need to know: Is that I am going to defeat you!"

"How foolish" Muramasa commented and just as Ichigo was about to attack him, he heard a voice shout out from above.

_"Getsuga Tensho!"_

Ichigo's eyes widened as he jumped back wards successfully dodging the wave of blue Reiatsu that crashed into the ground creating a field of smoke blocking Ichigo's vision of Muramasa. Once the smoke had cleared and their vision cleared up, Tensa Zangetsu was standing in front of Muramasa holding his sword to the side.

"Who is that?" Hinamori asked and Ichigo was the one that answered.

"Tensa Zangetsu, he is my Bankai"

_"I see you have healed since your last beating Ichigo"_ Tensa commented and raised his blade level to Ichigo's chest, _"Do you truly believe that you can beat me?"_

"Of course I do, I wouldn't have been looking for you if I didn't." Ichigo told him as he raised his left hand to his face, preparing to put on his mask and told the two woman, "Rangiku-san, Hinamori-san, please stay back, this is about to get intense."

They both nodded and jumped back and flinched when they felt the hollow Reiatsu burst from Ichigo.

_"Let's see how far you have come with your Hollowfication, Ichigo."_ Tensa said calmly.

"**You won't be so calm when I run this sword through your chest!"** Ichigo growled and thanks to the hollow edge to it made it much more menacing than if he had said it without it on. He launched himself at Tensa and swung his sword downward and Tensa blocked it calmly but the earth underneath broke apart forming a small crater from the force of the collision.

Tensa was eventually forced to Shunpo away as the force of Ichigo's Reiatsu was beginning to overwhelm him, he reappeared a few metres away from Ichigo, hovering in air.

"**What's wrong Tensa?"** The Hollowfied Ichigo asked, **"Your sword felt like a twig for a moment there!"**

In response, Tensa simply vanished and appeared behind Ichigo's head and swung downwards intending to slash into Ichigo's neck but found Ichigo's sword blocking it. Tensa's eyes widened as he saw Ichigo's left index finger pointing at him from under his right arm and the Cero that he was forming.

He quickly disengaged the blade lock and bent his back backwards and dodged the cero but suddenly Ichigo spun around and with his right foot and kicked him in the gut. The kick sent him sailing right into a tree and moments later he jumped out of the rubble into the air and Ichigo using pure instinct he punch the air in Tensa's direction. He was quite surprised to see a small ball of black and red Reiatsu shoot out of his fist and at an alarming speed hit Tensa in the chest and he flinched in pain.

Seeing this, Ichigo quickly used this moment to Shunpo behind him and slash at his back but his eyes widened as he slashed nothing but air and he sensed Tensa behind him. He spun around and with his sword he blocked the wordless Getsuga Tensho that Tensa had fired, it was a bit of a struggle but Ichigo was able to break the Getsuga.

Tensa just floated above and swung his sword downwards unleashing another Getsuga but Ichigo side stepped this one easily and then block the attack on his right. Both struggled to overpower the other when a smirk appeared on Tensa's face.

"**What's with that look?"** Ichigo said annoyed.

_"Didn't you tell Grimmjow that getting into a blade lock was a bad idea?"_ Tensa replied and Ichigo's eyes widened behind his mask but before he could do anything, Tensa yelled out,

_"Getsuga Tensho!"_

Ichigo was enveloped in blue Reiatsu and crashed hard into the ground as Tensa slowly descended back onto the ground.

Ichigo shrugged off the debris and got up painfully, his mask was cracked on the right side, but he gathered some Reiatsu into his left hand and merged it with his mask and repaired the crack.

_"Oh?"_ Tensa said looking surprised, _"You have gotten to the point where you can even repair the mask."_

"**Shut up"** Ichigo replied as he tried to think of a way in order to defeat his Zanpakutō. Tensa shunpoed directly in front of Ichigo and swung at the left side of his neck but Ichigo ducked under the strike and retaliated by swinging his sword at Tensa's torso. Tensa shunpoed back but Ichigo anticipated this and once again threw a punch out, firing one of those energy balls at him but this time; Tensa Zangetsu battered it away with his sword.

"_What the hell is that technique?"_ Ichigo wondered to himself.

"**It's called Bala; it's pretty weak but incredibly fast."** Hichigo told him, "**You need to think of something quick Ichigo; at this rate he is going to beat you again."**

"_I know! I still haven't got these hollow powers down pat yet."_

"**I have to admit, you have done quite well so far, learning how to use Bala and everything, I think it is time to hold my end of the deal."**

"_What do you mean?"_

"**The agreement was that '****the loser also had to aid him in getting Zangetsu back.' Now I am going to lend you my power, get ready for an increase in Reiatsu, and make sure you end it quickly as you won't be able to hold it for long."**

"_Wait, haven't I been using your all of your power already?"_

"**Of course not!" **Hichigo said annoyed, **"If I had, I wouldn't be offering would I? When I am locked away, you have access to all of my power but since I am free you have only been able to use a portion."**

"_Fine, then let's get it started."_

"**Remember, don't fight it Ichigo!"** Hichigo warned him and sent his Reiatsu to Ichigo whom had braced himself.

Tensa's eyebrows rose, along with Muramasa whilst Matsumoto and Hinamori were shocked by the sudden rise in hollow Reiatsu coming from Ichigo. He had thought he had learnt how to use all of his hollow Reiatsu but with this sudden increase in hollow Reiatsu he realised that this was the amount that he was using in his training with the Visored. His mind screamed for him to suppress it but he squashed that thought and let it fill him up and then without warning he shot towards Tensa.

Tensa's eyes widened at the sudden increased in speed and was just able to put up a defence but the force of Ichigo's swing sent him skidding back a few metres and then was hit in the chest by a Bala. This Bala was different from the previous one however; it was much faster and also stronger as he was sent back another few metres. He fired a quick wordless Getsuga at Ichigo but he battered it aside with his sword but Tensa had counted on that as he stayed in the shadow of the Getsuga with the help of Shunpo. The second Ichigo battered away the Getsuga, Tensa appeared right in front of him and he was within his guard as Ichigo's eyes widened in surprise, Tensa slashed his blade downwards. He successfully slashed Ichigo from his left shoulder down to his left hip and then shunpoed away when Ichigo was able to slash at him in retaliation.

Ichigo bled heavily as Tensa reappeared a few metres away and smirked at Ichigo, _"In a bit of pain their Ichigo?"_

"**Not really"** Ichigo replied and Tensa's eyes widened as he saw Reiatsu surround the wound and the next second the wound was healed.

_"You've already learned how to use high speed regeneration."_ Tensa stated**, **in his mind he thought, _"He is progressing much faster than I thought he would"_

"Yeah but how about we wrap this up?" Ichigo asked him intriguing Tensa.

_"And what do you recommend Ichigo?"_

"One final attack, no holding back, the strongest one wins."

Tensa smirked, _"Ok then Ichigo, an all out attack!"_

Tensa exploded with blue Reiatsu and lifted his blade into the air and began charging his Getsuga Tensho whilst Ichigo held out his palm in Tensa's direction and charged a Cero.

After a few minutes of charging, Ichigo fired the cero with everything he had as Tensa responded launching his full powered Getsuga Tensho. The black and red Reiatsu collided with the blue and both struggled to overpower the other but moments later, the cero began overpowering the Getsuga.

Tensa could only look on in shock as the Cero broke through his Zanpakutō before it enveloped him and darkness took hold of him.

Once the attack had dispersed, Ichigo stood panting as the mask crumbled off his face, and he noticed that Tensa Zangetsu's sword was sticking out of the ground. It began to disappear and that is when Hichigo spoke up one final time;

"**It looks like it's time for me to go back underground but I am warning you King, give me a chance and I will take the crown and send you to the bottom depths of your soul." **

With that parting comment, Ichigo felt his hollow leave his mind and felt another presence enter and sighed in relief when he felt it was Zangetsu.

"_You ok, old man?"_

_"Yes. I'm fine now. I am finally free of his mind control."_

"_Mind control?"_ Ichigo asked him.

_"He awakens a Zanpakutō's instinct and uses it to manipulate us."_

"_So he is controlling all of the Zanpakutō?"_ Ichigo clarified.

_"Most likely, yes."_ Zangetsu answered him, _"Ichigo, you truly saved me this time."_

"_My hollow helped."_ Ichigo informed him and then asked, _"So shall we take Muramasa down now partner?"_

_"Yes, I think so."_

Ichigo feeling fresher thanks to Zangetsu feeding him some Reiatsu but he was still nowhere near full strength but it would have to do.

"OK, it's your turn Muramasa." Ichigo said as he released Zangetsu, it felt extremely good to be able to use Zangetsu and then he leapt towards him as Muramasa summoned his sword. However as Muramasa lifted his sword over his head to block Ichigo's incoming slash, both of his eyes suddenly started bleeding and he fell to his knees as Ichigo swung his blade down aiming for his head.

However another blade appeared and stopped it and Ichigo looked at the user who had defended Muramasa. It was a man as a masked samurai in full-body armour. He had long, dark brown hair tied with a silver ribbon and wore a golden forehead plate that resembled a half-cherry blossom.

The man pushed Ichigo backwards and after Ichigo landed he asked, "Who are you?"

The samurai didn't say anything instead he pointed his sword at Ichigo.

Ichigo smirked, "Don't feel like telling me. Fine, I will just have to figure it out when I force you to reveal your abilities."

"You will figure it out in a moment Kurosaki Ichigo" He told him before pointing his sword straight up and held the hilt face level and Ichigo's eyes widened as he recognised the stance.

"Scatter" Then he did something that Ichigo didn't anticipate and spun his sword upside down, so the tip was now facing the ground and he dropped the sword. The sword phased into the ground, as though it were a pool of water and energy ripples expand out, turning the surrounding area dark, and within seconds, two rows of a giant blades rose up from the ground. They burst into thousands of Sakura petals and headed straight towards Ichigo, Matsumoto and Hinamori.

"Bakudo #39: Enkōsen!" Hinamori yelled as she created a yellow spinning shield in front of her but it had no effect as the Sakura petals just went around it and enveloped both Hinamori and Matsumoto.

However before it could do any serious damage to them, they were blown away by a large wave of blue Reiatsu and the sight that greeted Senbonzakura was Ichigo standing in front of Matsumoto and Hinamori in Bankai.

"I haven't forgotten how powerful you are, Senbonzakura"

"I see you remembered me, Kurosaki Ichigo."

"I'll never forget that fight" Ichigo told him.

Senbonzakura didn't reply so Ichigo charged towards him, it felt great going at this fast speed again and dodged the Sakura petals that were shot towards him by changing directions instantly and leaping back.

He looked above to see Ichigo in the air with his blade rose above his head and shunpoed behind Ichigo and asked him, "Did you think such an attack would work on me?"

He launched another wave at Sakura petals at him but he utilized Shunpo to dodge them and landed back on the ground and replied, "Nope, I was merely testing your speed."

Senbonzakura didn't say anything but Ichigo got the feeling that he was annoyed by what he had said and continued sending waves of Sakura petals at him with no success. Ichigo battered away another wave of petals with Tensa Zangetsu and then using Shunpo he started moving so fast that it looked like there were copies of him. He finally shunpoed directly in front of Senbonzakura and swung his sword downwards but was block by a shield of petals but Ichigo just smirked,

"Getsuga Tensho!"

The wave of Reiatsu cut through the Sakura petals like they were butter and Senbonzakura was encased in the explosion.

Ichigo landed a few metres back with his Zanpakutō relaxed against his shoulder and waited for his opponent to show himself, and he was pleased to see no real damaged done but that Senbonzakura was panting heavily.

Senbonzakura then held out his hand and told him, "Gōkei!"

Ichigo was shocked when he found himself inside a spherical formation of innumerable blade fragments, which swirled around him like a cloud.

"What the hell? I've never seen this before" Ichigo said annoyed but had a very slight edge of fear in his voice; Byakuya's Zanpakutō's abilities were deadly.

He noticed that they were beginning to close in and then he heard Senbonzakura say, "There are a hundred million tiny blades, they form a sphere around the enemy and fly at you from every direction. You're finished Kurosaki Ichigo."

Ichigo only had one option, grabbing Tensa Zangetsu by the chain he spun it above his head and released a Getsuga Tensho at the same time so effectively he launched a 360 degree Getsuga Tensho. It served its purpose as it created a gap in the top part of the sphere and he quickly shunpoed out as the rest closed in and attempted to obliterate him in an explosion.

"To think you were able to escape that, I must say that is impressive."

"Not really" Ichigo replied.

"Why is that?" Senbonzakura questioned and before he could react, Ichigo had shunpoed in front of him and slashed his left shoulder. In retaliation he attempted to hit Ichigo with a wave of petals but blood burst out of his right shoulder as Ichigo used Shunpo to step behind him and sliced his right shoulder in the process.

Senbonzakura fell to his knees in pain and Ichigo told him one final thing before turning his attention to Muramasa;

"If you fought alongside Byakuya then in my current state I most likely would have lost. A Shinigami fighting with his Zanpakutō is more powerful than a Zanpakutō or Shinigami alone."

His attention now on Muramasa and he saw that his eyes were no longer bleeding, so he assumed that he was back to full health. While he dispatched of Senbonzakura rather easily, that fight along with his battle against Tensa Zangetsu had drained him and that he wouldn't be able to last much longer in Bankai.

"I'll make you regret humiliating me" Senbonzakura said as he stood up painfully and summoned a sword as Ichigo turned around to face him with an annoyed look.

"Stay down" Ichigo told him, "I have no desire to kill you."

Senbonzakura attempted to strike him when a hand suddenly clamped onto his wrist making him freeze as Ichigo's along with Matsumoto and Hinamori's eyes widened in shock at who it was.

There holding Senbonzakura's wrist was Byakuya.

"That's enough." He told his Zanpakutō.

"Byakuya" Ichigo stated in disbelief while Matsumoto was looking at him suspiciously, _"Kuchiki-Taicho was supposed to be missing. What is he doing here?"_

Senbonzakura relented and Ichigo told Byakuya, "Sorry I had to rough your Zanpakutō up a bit."

Byakuya just looked at him for a moment and closed his eyes, "Pull back Kurosaki."

"What?"

Byakuya just raised a hand towards him and said, "Hadō 33: Sōkatsui!"

A torrent of blue Reiatsu exploded from his hand and headed straight towards Ichigo who shunpoed away and reappeared 20m away from Byakuya.

"What the hell did you do that for?"

"Kurosaki Ichigo, I cannot allow you to attack this man."

Ichigo looked confused and asked him, "Why not? Why are you protecting Muramasa? Did your Zanpakutō force you to submit to its will?"

Byakuya frowned, and replied, "Submit? A Zanpakutō could never best me. I am doing this of my own free will. The Zanpakutō are following through with their inner desires and expressing a sense of self. You, along with many other Shinigami, have witnessed it. You saw their liberation. I am following suit. I am merely obeying my inner desires."

"That's quite a fascinating Shinigami." Muramasa said, "Then allow me to ask you something, Shinigami. What is your inner desire? How will you express your will?"

Byakuya glanced at him, "My inner desire is to protect my pride. Nothing more."

He focused his attention back on Ichigo and told him sternly, "Kurosaki, stay away from Muramasa henceforth. Otherwise you will die."

Ichigo frowned at him but stayed silent and a large wave of Sakura petals blocked there view and when they disappeared, they were no longer there.

"Did that just happen?" Matsumoto asked in confusion at what she just saw whilst Hinamori was too shocked to speak.

Ichigo exited his Bankai and put his sealed sword back in its sheath, his mind was filled with nothing but confusion. He knew Byakuya better then Matsumoto and Hinamori; this was the man who was willing to sacrifice his sister in order to follow the rules albeit with a very heavy and conflicted heart. Yet now, he willingly broke the rules and joined the Zanpakutō to protect his pride, but what was his pride?

However there was a thought that entered his head that scared the shit out of him, how was he going to tell Rukia?

**4****th**** Squad Infirmary**

"What was that, Ichigo? Watch what you say!" Renji said angrily grabbing the front of Ichigo's Shihakushō and Ichigo just looked annoyed at Renji.

"That is enough Abarai Fukutaicho." Kyōraku said but Renji protested, "There's just no way Kuchiki-Taicho would ever betray us. He must have a reason for doing this."

"I think Renji is right." Ichigo said as everyone looked at him in confusion as he was the one that reported Byakuya to be a traitor.

Seeing their confused and skeptical looks he continued, "It's just not in him, this is a man who almost sacrificed his sister to follow the rules, so he must know something about Muramasa that we don't. No matter his reasons however, we have to assume that he is the enemy now for whatever he is planning to work."

They all nodded, it definitely seemed like something Byakuya would do.

"Have you had any luck discovering a way to reverse Muramasa's control?" Ichigo asked them.

"Yes, I have received a very grim report from the 12th Squad." Unohana told him, and they all looked at her intently, "According to one test, if anyone other than a Zanpakutō's master defeats and destroys it, it's highly likely that the sword will never return to normal."

"So what should we do if we fight against someone else's Zanpakutō?" Renji questioned.

"You'll just have to hold back." Kyōraku said before leaning back on his chair with his arms folded on his chest, "It feels like our enemy actually wants to fight with our own Zanpakutō."

"That is exactly what our Zanpakutō want." Ichigo said, "On my way back here, I talked to Zangetsu more about how he fell under Muramasa's control. He told me that what made him separate from me was because of my lack of progress in mastering my hollow powers and separating from me was the perfect way to force me to use my hollow powers."

Renji added in his input, "It was a similar thing with me, Zabimaru claimed that I couldn't fight without him and that I didn't put enough into my training. However during the fight I was able to activate my Shikai which is something I still don't understand."

The three captains each looked like they were thinking hard and it was Ukitake that came up with a theory,

"Maybe it's just their spirit that has left us but their power is still deep inside us. Zanpakutō were born from our soul, so that power that they lend us is still deep in our souls. But now without our Zanpakutō to lend us it, we have to search deep within ourselves to activate it."

Kyōraku nodded, "You may be right but without our Zanpakutō spirits we can't use Bankai."

"However it's like Kurosaki-san said earlier, we are much weaker without our Zanpakutō spirits and with the upcoming war with Aizen we are going to need them back. So unless you are battling your own Zanpakutō, all Zanpakutō must be captured alive." Unohana informed them and Kyōraku told Nanao to inform the other Squads to follow that order.

Ichigo nodded in understanding, it was a good thing that he held back in his strikes on Senbonzakura, "How is Tōshirō?"

"Unfortunately, he is going to be out of commission for a while." Unohana told him.

"Who is going to tell Rukia?" Renji asked and Ichigo winced, that would not be a good experience.

"I will" Ukitake said but Renji whom wanted to get his mind off of this bad topic and found this the opportunity to tease Ichigo.

"No I think Ichigo should." He said.

"What?" Ichigo said alarmed, "Why me?"

"Isn't that what boyfriends are for?" Renji questioned him and suppressed laughing at the baffled look on Ichigo's face and everyone else looked on in amusement.

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"You stormed into Soul Society to save her and you let her sleep in your closet, and the only explanation is that you two are a couple." Renji teased him as Ichigo's face went beet red through anger or embarrassment whilst Kyōraku was chuckling and Unohana and Ukitake just watched with interest.

"I am NOT dating Rukia!" Ichigo yelled at him and punched him in the face, sending him to the ground like Rukia did and he couldn't help but chuckle further enraging Ichigo.

"You both had the same idea to punch me in the face."

Ichigo in response just kicked him several times, followed by a large breath in attempt to regain his composure and said to Ukitake,

"It would best for you to tell her."

**6****th**** Squad Barracks**

Rukia woke up in Byakuya's office after she had gotten permission from Renji to search it for clues about Byakuya's intentions. Earlier that day, Ukitake had told her that Byakuya had joined the Zanpakutō and was now an enemy of Soul Society but he also told her of Ichigo's and Renji's suspicions of Byakuya knowing more about Muramasa then they did.

She held onto that belief as she knew that there was no way that her brother would betray Soul Society but during her search for clues, she fell asleep still fatigued from her battle.

It was then she heard noises outside in the whole and she ran out and was shocked to see all of the cracks in the wall and broken windows along with a few Shinigami lying unconscious on the ground.

At the end of the hall her eyes widened as she saw her brother standing with his back to her.

"Nii-sama, what are you doing here? No, where have you been?"

"Stay away from me" He told her still not facing her.

"What do you mean?"

"He means this!" A voice said from behind her and she looked to see Senbonzakura swinging his sword downwards towards her but it was blocked by Renji.

Renji pushed Senbonzakura away and attempted to cut him in half but he shunpoed next to Byakuya.

"What is going on here Taicho?" Renji asked him, "Are you really on their side now?"

Byakuya turned to face him but didn't say anything but Renji could see the answer in his eyes. He pointed his sword at his Taicho and told him, "Kuchiki-Taicho, you're under arrest, as a co-conspirator behind the Zanpakutō Rebellion."

"Please. You cannot stand up to me."

"Shut up" Renji said as he and Byakuya began clashing blades, both trying to overpower the other, when Byakuya trapped Renji's sword on the broken window sill.

As Renji struggled to break the hold, Byakuya told him, "I was told you used your Broken Baboon Fang in your last fight. You shouldn't even be able to make your katana go into Shikai right now."

However another voice spoke up, "Who did you say couldn't go into Shikai?"

Byakuya was force to Shunpo next to his Zanpakutō as the wall was blown apart and standing next to Renji was his Zanpakutō in human form.

Zabimaru's spirit took the form of a two people: an adult woman and a small boy, attached to the female's waist by a black chain that is connected to a collar on his neck. The female was referred to as Saru (Monkey) and the boy was referred to as Hebi (Snake). Saru had dark green fur that covered most of her body, except for her inner abdomen and chest. She also seemed to have a beauty mark on her left chest. She had green eyes, long, rose-colored hair that went past her knees, and black markings in her hair that bore a resemblance to Renji's tattoos. Hebi had blue eyes and jaw-length crimson hair and wore a robe similar to a priest's that was cut short to reveal much of his stomach, with long sleeves that extended well past his hands. He had a snake's tail on which he often balances on to sit in the air and the two both possessed fangs.

Resting on Saru's right shoulder was there Shikai.

"Renji may not be able to make us go into Shikai form, but that doesn't mean a dam thing to use when we materialize." Saru told them and Hebi agreed.

"I will deal with them, you head back to Muramasa" Senbonzakura told him.

"So you will be our opponent? Maybe now we can finish our old fight." Saru said.

Senbonzakura scoffed however, "Don't get cocky. You're hardly an opponent for me with your pathetic swordsmanship."

"Don't underestimate us!" Hebi replied.

As the Zanpakutō began their battle and ended up breaking down the walls and continuing outside and as Byakuya was about to leave, Renji shunpoed in front and forced him into a blade lock.

"We are not done with you yet!"

"I don't have time to play with you. My words aren't getting through are they" Byakuya replied and then pushed Renji off.

**Not far away.**

Ichigo ran out of the 4th squad infirmary, he had been staying there resting since last night and talked a lot with Ukitake and Kyōraku on what they should do. It was decided that since he not only had his Zanpakutō back but the ability to use his Hollow powers that he would be the one to stop Byakuya and Muramasa until more Shinigami got their Zanpakutō back.

Now he was headed to the 6th squad barracks as he could sense Renji and Byakuya along with their Zanpakutō's battling.

**6****th**** Squad Barracks**

Renji lay painfully on the ground inside a crater, no matter what he did, Shunpo, Kido, he was no match for Byakuya and he could tell that Zabimaru had also lost to Senbonzakura. The strength and experience between both Byakuya and himself but also Zabimaru and Senbonzakura was far too great.

"Renji!" Rukia cried out in concern as she saw her fallen friend and she looked up to see Byakuya landed a few metres away.

"I'll say this one last time Rukia: Stay out of the rebellion from now on."

He began walking away when suddenly a few Zanpakutō landed in front of him and one of them was Hōzukimaru.

Gonryōmaru's spirit took the form of a man dressed as a traveller from Japan's Meiji era, with thunderbolt designs on his shoulders. He had long, black hair covering a cloth wrapped around his forehead. His eyes were completely black and he carries a large, box-like pack on his back, and has a long pike in his hand.

Tenken's spirit was similar to the Buddhist deity Fudo Myōō, standing roughly two-stories tall. He had red skin and was capable of shooting fire from his mouth. He carried both a bolas and a sword; both of which could also produce fire.

Ruri'iro Kujaku's spirit took the form of a fully grown, lean-built harpie-man with green and blue wings attached to his hands and forearms. Dark blue feathers grew over his flanks without covering his abdomen and pectorals. He had blue hair with shoulder-length strands framing both sides of his face and a long braided ponytail in the back reaching his waist. The top of his head was covered in bandages and there were orange feathers on his head.

"Are you going to finish them off?" Hōzukimaru asked.

"What are you doing here?" Senbonzakura questioned.

"How rude! We came because Muramasa-san told us to come help out." Ruri'iro Kujaku explained.

The Zanpakutō surrounded Renji and Rukia but before they could attack them, there was a sudden increase in Reiatsu and a second later they were surrounded by the Onmitsukidō.

Soifon appeared on top of the 6th Squad barracks and commanded, "Don't move!"

Ikkaku, Kira and Yumichika also appeared, with both Ikkaku and Yumichika's attention focused sorely upon their Zanpakutō.

Ichigo shunpoed next to a relieved Rukia and a sore Renji and stared down Byakuya as Gonryōmaru asked, "Is this the Kurosaki Ichigo? The one that Muramasa is so interested in."

"What of it?" Ichigo shot back in annoyance as Soifon took notice of him, "Do you know your orders Kurosaki?"

"Yeah" Ichigo replied, pointing his sword at Byakuya, "I will stop Byakuya here."

Soifon nodded, "Madarame, Ayasegawa defeat your Zanpakutō and Kira capture one of them alive."

Ikkaku and Hōzukimaru, Yumichika and Kujaku, the two pairs went off somewhere else to continue, Soifon went ahead and paired up against Tenken and Kira matched up with Gonryōmaru. Soifon ordered the Onmitsukidō to not interfere unless she ordered it.

Renji stood up panting and Ichigo seeing this along with his wounds told him, "Rest Renji, leave this to me."

He walked towards Byakuya but Senbonzakura stood in front of Byakuya and told him, "Leave him to me. You need to hurry back to Muramasa's; we have accomplished what we came to do."

"Very well."

Ichigo looked annoyed and said, "Don't you remember what happened last time?"

Senbonzakura charged Ichigo whom withdrew his sword but before he could attack him, a large wave of yellow Reiatsu intercepts him and a voice called out,

"I will deal with him, Kurosaki Ichigo."

Byakuya, Senbonzakura, Ichigo, Renji and Rukia looked towards the source of the voice and saw an old man, wrapped in a black cloaked but Ichigo's and Byakuya's eyes widened when he saw the sword he was carrying. It was Kenpachi's sword.

"Yes" He said as he saw their faces, "I am Kenpachi Zaraki's Zanpakutō and I am here to repay my debt to you Kurosaki Ichigo!"

**Like it Review it. Don't like it then don't read it.**


	6. Ending the Rebellion

**Disclaimer: I Don't Own Bleach**

**Chapter 6 – Ending the Rebellion**

"Kenpachi's Zanpakutō?" Ichigo asked in confusion, from what he could see of the man, he was roughly the same build as Kenpachi but it was hard to tell with his wrapped in a black cloak and hood. The only skin that could be seen was his elderly face, he also had red eyes.

"That is correct, this is the first time that I have seen the outside world and I must say it certainly is an interesting place."

"What is your name fellow Zanpakutō?" Senbonzakura asked and the old man just grinned at him and said,

"My name is _."

"Sorry didn't catch that old man." Ichigo told him and he just chuckled dryly at him.

"Of course not, if my own wielder can't hear it, what makes you think that any of you can?"

"I see" Senbonzakura commented whilst Byakuya look on with a slight bit of interest.

"Hey what did you mean by you being in my debt?" Ichigo asked him suddenly and the old man with gratitude in his voice responded,

"It was thanks to you that Zaraki began trying to learn my name, before his battle with you he didn't attempt, not once, he denied me so much that the one time I offered him aid, and he couldn't even see what I looked like."

"I see" Ichigo said but then the old man told him sternly,

"I will fight Senbonzakura however if my wielder shows up, then I will abandon the fight and take him on."

Ichigo nodded, "That's fine, and I guess I will take Byakuya then."

Ichigo looked back to Rukia and Renji, "You guys stay back, as you are both in no condition to fight."

"Wait Ichigo I can-." Renji told him trying to get up but collapsed back on the ground much to Rukia's concern.

Both Zaraki's Zanpakutō and Senbonzakura shunpoed into the air and began fighting, mainly testing each other, whilst Ichigo pointed his sword at Byakuya and shouted,

"BANKAI!"

Blue Reiatsu exploded out of Ichigo and then he swung Tensa Zangetsu downwards and the force cleared the dust as Byakuya just looked at him with narrowed eyes. Ichigo focused a lot of Reiatsu into the soles of his feet, he wanted to get Byakuya away from Renji and Rukia so he could get some answers and felt that with them there he wouldn't answer them.

Byakuya's eyes widened when Kurosaki suddenly disappeared from vision, he had only done it once before back at Sōkyoku hill when he first went Bankai, after that, Byakuya had no trouble following his movements.

A hand grabbed the top of his Shihakushō and attempt to drag him off somewhere which he allowed as he wanted to be out of those hurt eyes of his sister. Once Ichigo had dragged him to a more private area, he threw him but Byakuya landed gracefully as he stared at Ichigo stonily.

"Ready for round two Byakuya?" Ichigo asked him twirling Tensa Zangetsu from the chain with his right index finger.

"Interesting Kurosaki Ichigo." Byakuya stated much to Ichigo's confusion, "Didn't you lecture Senbonzakura that a Shinigami and Zanpakutō working together is stronger than either alone. Yet here you are using your Bankai against an opponent who can no longer use his Shikai efficiently."

Ichigo smirked and said, "That maybe true but you have one advantage over me that your sword doesn't, and that is your ability to use Kido."

Byakuya just responded by Shunpoing behind him and aimed a slash at Ichigo's back but Ichigo had seen every step and spun around and blocked it with Tensa. It was then Ichigo's eyes narrowed, his suspicions confirmed as he felt the strength of Byakuya's sword and he shunpoed backwards a few metres.

"So my suspicions were correct, your sword is much stronger than what it was when we battled in Soul Society."

Byakuya narrowed his eyes, "What are you talking about Kurosaki Ichigo?"

"Ever since you told me about the conflict you were going through with Rukia's execution and our clash of blades has just given me the evidence I needed. That clash just then, proved to me the reason why I had won that battle."

Byakuya just remained silent as Ichigo continued, "I will definitely admit that my hollow taking over turned the tables in our fight but I now know the reason why I won that last clash. Zangetsu told me that when a Shinigami's resolve weakens, their blade dulls, their Reiatsu weakens, and their reflex's slow down. In your heart is where your resolve lies and your heart wanted me to win!"

"What foolishness is this?"

"It ain't foolishness" Ichigo told him, "You couldn't save Rukia without breaking the rules which you swore an oath not to, and the only hope that you had was a loophole in your promises. That's why you were so angry at me I think, you saw me as an inferior being, incapable of saving Rukia, and you hated the one chance to save Rukia rested on me. You needed someone strong enough to 'defeat' you; that way you tried to obey the rules and protect Rukia at the same time."

Byakuya was amazed at Kurosaki's analysis, of course his face didn't show it, remaining in its emotionless expression. His mind was astonished that a mere human at the age of 16 could come up with a theory like that with a single clash of the swords and the worst part was that he was right.

"So let me ask you a question, a simple yes or no answer will suffice. Do you know something about Muramasa that the rest of us don't?"

"Yes" Byakuya told him honestly as he had caught on where Kurosaki was going with this, as there was no one but him and Rukia that knew Byakuya's true reasons for upholding the law.

Ichigo nodded and told him, "Then go and perform your duty but first blast me back towards Rukia and Renji with a Kido spell. A strong one!"

"Very well, prepare yourself" Byakuya told him as he held out his hand towards him and chanted something under his breath.

"_Ichigo, raise your right arm into the air and bend it so your elbow is the highest point and level with your head and point the blade down diagonally across your body and pump as much Reiatsu as you can. Just before his attack hits you, jump slightly into the air so the attack sends you flying back."_ Tensa Zangetsu suddenly spoke up in Ichigo's mind.

Ichigo did as he was told as Byakuya just finished muttering his incantation and finished with, "Hadō #88: Hiryū Gekizoku Shinten Raihō!"

He fired a gigantic beam of electrical Reiatsu at Ichigo whom had been pumping as much Reiatsu into his sword as he could, and just like Tensa told him, seconds before the beam hit him he jumped slightly into the air. An oval shield of blue Reiatsu suddenly formed from his Zanpakutō and as the attack hit it, Ichigo was sent back from the momentum of the beam at a face rate. He kept pumping Reiatsu into the shield to reform the cracks that had appeared in it from the beam's pressure.

Byakuya eventually ended the attack, he had held back about 25% of the power he put in the technique and shunpoed away. With Byakuya releasing the attack, the beam exploded in a huge blast of Reiatsu that broke through Ichigo's shield but he was able to Shunpo away and only received a portion of damage from the technique.

Ichigo's right sleeve was blown apart and he had some slight burns up his right arm as he panted and stared at the direction he came from. He no longer could sense Byakuya's Reiatsu and he was quite shocked by how powerful that attack was and he knew that Byakuya held back.

"_Do not forget Ichigo that you held back as well"_ Tensa reminded him, _"Like Zangetsu told you about the Getsuga Tensho, saying the name affects its power and it is the same with the shield."_

"_What is the name for the shield?"_

"_Getsuga Tentate no __Aigo"_

"_Getsuga Tentate no __Aigo? Isn't that a bit long? I mean is the no Aigo really needed?"_

"_Shut up! There my techniques that I am giving you and I can name them what I bloody want! If it makes you feel better then you can just call it Getsuga Tentate and it will still be effective."_Tensa told him annoyed.

"_So what is the point of the no Aigo then?"_

"_Focus your attention on the outside Ichigo!"_ Tensa snapped.

"Ichigo, are you alright?" Rukia asked him as she and Renji approached him she had been able to heal Renji to the extent of being able to walk.

"Yeah I'm fine; Byakuya caught me off guard with a few Kido's."

Rukia and Renji looked down, they couldn't sense Byakuya's Reiatsu anymore and knew that he would be long gone now but their thoughts were interrupted by an explosion.

The old man and Senbonzakura landed a few metres away and they watched Senbonzakura send a wave of Sakura petals at him, but the old man just slashed his sword downwards sending a blast of yellow Reiatsu.

The blast cut through the Sakura petals just like Ichigo's Getsuga Tensho much to Senbonzakura's annoyance.

"So you have a technique similar to the Getsuga Tensho"

"Getsuga Tensho?" The old man asked confused, "What is that?"

Senbonzakura explained it to him and he just laughed in reply, "No I don't have a move like that, in fact I despise Kido type moves, but I just have so much dam Reiatsu despite my appearance and sometimes when I slash my sword it releases Reiatsu."

"I see" However just as they were about to continue their fight, a building nearby exploded in a large yellow Reiatsu that was very familiar to Ichigo and the old man.

Large figure walked out of the rubble with a maniac grin on his face and spotting Ichigo's slight injuries he said,

"You look like you've had a bit of trouble Ichigo"

Ichigo scowled at him, "Like hell I have!"

Suddenly a Zanpakutō in the form of an emaciated, shirtless man shunpoed behind Kenpachi. He carried a large metal ball on his left shoulder and Izuru's Shikai in his right hand. His pants resembled those of a Shinigami's Shihakushō but tied with chains instead of an obi. He had his head bowed down, letting his hair completely cover his face and had a large stone tablet chained to his body that seemed to weigh him down, as well as stones attached to his ankles.

"I don't like you, die!" He swung the hook blade at Kenpachi's shoulder but Kenpachi didn't even flinch from the contact and looked at the Zanpakutō with disinterest.

"Were you trying to hurt me with that dull blade?" Kenpachi asked he grabbed the blade and lifted it above his head much to Wabisuke's shock, "I don't have time to play with the likes of you."

Usually he would have slashed him in half, but he had received strict orders to not kill any Zanpakutō and he wouldn't waste his time on someone like this and so he hit him with hilt of his blade on the back of his head knocking him out instantly.

"Where have you been anyway Kenpachi?" Ichigo asked him curiously, he had expected Kenpachi to be in the thick of the action but hadn't until now.

However before Kenpachi could answer, Yachiru jumped onto his shoulder and answered, "Hiya Ichi! I'll explain everything! Ken-chan and I were out near Rukongai fighting some Hollow. When we heard what was going on here, we tried to hurry back, but we got completely lost! That is why we're so late."

"Don't tell them that Yachiru!" Kenpachi scolded her.

"But it's the truth" Yachiru protested, "You even passed right by a candy shop we found on the way back."

"I said I will take you back there later!"

"You better!" Yachiru told them.

"I'm gonna cut loose now. Get down." Kenpachi told her and she leaped off of him happily and ran to a spot where she would get a good view to watch.

He ripped off his eye patch and his body burst into a massive amount of Reiatsu and he shouted, "First thing is to blow away all of the weaklings!"

Ichigo's eyes widened when he realised Kenpachi was grinning at him and quickly told Rukia as Kenpachi began running in his direction, "Rukia grabbed Renji and Shunpo away from me."

Rukia did so and made some distance between them as Kenpachi leapt into the air and slashed downwards at Ichigo whom had raised his sword to block it. He pumped Reiatsu into the sword and murmured softly just as Kenpachi's sword connected,

"Getsuga Tentate"

The 6th Squad barracks was demolished in the explosion of Reiatsu that had erupted when Ichigo and Kenpachi had clashed swords. Renji and Rukia both pulled themselves out of the rubble that they found themselves under due to the blast.

There was a large crater where the 6th Squad barracks and yard used to be and in the middle of that crater was Ichigo blocking Kenpachi's strike thanks to his shield but there were large cracks in it. Ichigo disabled the shield and pushed Kenpachi off him and he landed with the biggest grin on his face as he put his eye patch back on.

"Excellent Ichigo, you've learned some new stuff."

Ichigo smirked, "You to, you never struck me that hard in our previous fight."

"My blade hadn't seen much action until then, it had gotten pretty dull but thanks to you, the edge is sharp again." Kenpachi told him however before he could charge Ichigo a voice stopped him.

"Kurosaki Ichigo, fall back. This fight is mine."

Kenpachi looked annoyed that someone was stopping him from fighting Ichigo however his eye widened when he the sword the old geezer was holding.

"That sword..."

"Yes Zaraki, so we finally meet face to face." The old man said as he walked towards Kenpachi, Senbonzakura had used Kenpachi's arrival as chance to escape and head towards the hideout.

Kenpachi scoffed, "I never thought my Zanpakutō would be a decrepit old man."

The old man glared fiercely at him, "The reason I am an old man is because of you! My age represents the link between us! When our connection is strong, then my appearance represents a man in his prime and I am much stronger. However thanks to you my power has weakened and I am in this pathetic form!"

Kenpachi frowned at him, "You have had your chances to change that of late. Ever since my fight with Ichigo, I have been trying to talk to you but you're the one that is ignoring me."

"Why should I listen to you when you didn't listen to me? There is nothing you can say that would make me want to help you as like you, I don't use words; I prefer fighting as much as you do. What pisses me off is that you have hogged it all to yourself!"

Now he had Kenpachi's interest, someone who loved fighting as much as he did was his favourite type of opponent.

"So I have an offer" Kenpachi's Zanpakutō said, "If you are able to kill me, then I will start communicating with you, that doesn't mean I will lend you my power however. But if you lose, then you die and I am free to fight all I want!"

Kenpachi grinned widely and took his eye patch off enabling to have access to his full Reiatsu, as he felt his Zanpakutō's Reiatsu power up to a level like his.

Kenpachi charged towards him, sword high in the air and swung down aiming of his Zanpakutō's torso but met nothing but air and then felt a blade pierce the middle of his chest from the back.

Kenpachi scowled, "So my Zanpakutō is one of those cowards that use Shunpo to dodge and attack from behind."

The old man scoffed, "No I am merely setting up one of my abilities" He then said something but Kenpachi didn't hear what he said and for a second, the old man's sword glowed red for a moment. He then pulled it out and jumped back as Kenpachi attempted to slash him as he spun around.

"You said just then I had to fight a coward's way. You have made me fight this way, do you think my current appearance can handle a slash and hack fight? The slash and hack style is my favourite battling style but I can't use it unless I am in my prime form."

Kenpachi looked guilty for a second before it was gone and he asked, "You said you were setting up a move, what did you do?"

The old man smirked at him and held out his free left hand and lightly cut his hand much to Kenpachi's confusion. His eyes widened as he felt a small sting in his left hand and he looked at it and saw that he had a cut the same size as his Zanpakutō.

"To activate this technique I needed your blood, which is why I stabbed you so quickly, and any injuries I receive, then you also receive it."

Kenpachi's eyes widened as the old man continued, "However there is a way to get out of its power and also there is a weakness."

He then held up his sword and Kenpachi saw at the bottom of the hilt, was a small glass that was filled with blood.

"If this glass is broken, and the blood is released then they will no longer be under its effect. There is one other downside to this, if the glass is shattered, then the damage that the technique caused will reverse. So basically if you stabbed me in the chest, you would also be stabbed but if you break the glass, then yours would heal but mine wouldn't. That is the major weakness in this technique and should be used wisely."

Kenpachi smiled widely, "Sounds interesting, a battle of will! Bring it on!"

Kenpachi charged and this time their blades clashed and Kenpachi began overpower his Zanpakutō until he vanished with Shunpo and Kenpachi's right shoulder was slashed. He turned around and saw that his Zanpakutō had gained some distance and he released a wave of Reiatsu at him but was confused by the big grin on the old man's face.

He pointed his sword at the incoming wave and when they connected, the Reiatsu was sucked into the sword which was now glowing yellow. He then raised the blade and fired the attack right back at Kenpachi but he caught it with one hand and crushed it.

"How did you like that one Zaraki?"

"You can absorb Reiatsu attacks?" Kenpachi said annoyed, _"Where is the fun in that?"_ He thought to himself.

The old man scowled, "I hate Kido type attacks, the only reason we have that slash is because we have too much uncontrollable Reiatsu and that we do the attacks just to get rid of some. Yes we have an attack that absorbs Reiatsu however we don't have to send it back, we could both store it and add it to our reserves or we could use it to heal an injury. This forces our opponents into fighting us in melee just the way we like it."

"I like the sound of that, all of that pussy Kido shit is annoying!"

Ichigo, Renji and Rukia just watched the two fight, well Rukia and Renji was whilst Ichigo was paling in absolute horror. They had heard everything being said, not only would his Getsuga be useless but also he didn't have the endurance to continue being hacked up.

"Can Kenpachi-Taicho win?" Rukia asked her two friends and Renji just smirked and replied, "Of course, there aren't many that can go toe to toe with him."

"I hope he dies" Ichigo muttered but both Rukia and Renji heard him, Rukia looked at him in shock whilst Renji tried to hold a laugh.

"How could you say something like that Ichigo!" Rukia yelled at him somehow pulling out her sketchbook from nowhere and smacking him in the face with it. Ichigo yelped in pain as Renji couldn't hold in the laugh any longer.

"Isn't it obvious Rukia? You know Kenpachi has an interest in fighting Ichigo, would you want to fight Kenpachi if he gains those abilities? Ichigo is afraid of him."

While Renji might have been right, Ichigo was not going to let someone attack his pride like that and so in retaliation he attempted to punch him in the face however he was hit by the sketchbook again.

"Renji is injured dammit; hitting him will only worsen his injuries."

Ichigo scowled as Tensa spoke up, _"What the hell are you so afraid of Ichigo; you have speed on your side so you can avoid his blows and he can't always absorb your Getsuga Tensho. Just avoid using it when he is able to block it."_

"_Yeah your right, I'm being stupid but he does have some frightening abilities."_

"_Maybe but so do you Ichigo, you just don't fully understand them all yet."_

"_What do you mean?_

"_Don't worry, you will understand in time, for now focus on the approaching Reiatsu."_

Yoruichi, Soifon, Kyōraku, Unohana and Ukitake suddenly appeared on the scene and Unohana immediately began healing Renji as Ichigo asked about the other Zanpakutō.

They reported that Ikkaku and Yumichika successfully defeated their Zanpakutō but not without injuries whilst thanks to the help from Yoruichi, they successfully captured Tenken. Kira had also been able to subdue Gonryōmaru.

"I take it you weren't able to stop Byakuya" Ukitake asked Rukia and she shook her head sadly before he turned his attention to Kenpachi's fight.

"Who is Kenpachi fighting?" Kyōraku questioned.

"His Zanpakutō" Ichigo told him and they all looked surprised. Yoruichi then decided to relay some vital information she had discovered,

"I have been able to find the Captain-Commander!"

After a series of questions on how she knew, they decided that Ichigo, Kyōraku, Ukitake and Yoruichi would go and rescue the Commander as they figured that Kenpachi would still be a while.

**Muramasa's Hideout**

Ichigo was currently running down a long dark tunnel heading towards the Captain Commander's Reiatsu, he and Yoruichi had entered the back way whilst Kyōraku and Ukitake had entered into the cave through the front entrance.

On their way, those two Zanpakutō that he had fought earlier, Haineko and Tobiume had intercepted them and Yoruichi stayed behind to deal with them. Now he was heading towards the end of the passage and he could see a green light and the end of it and he was quite surprised by what he saw.

There was a large green triangular shield and sitting in the middle of it was the Captain Commander however when he got close to the shield, fire erupted from the Commander onto the shield forcing him to keep his distance.

"Guess I will just have to break you out from a distance." Ichigo mused to himself as he released his sword into his Shikai.

"_Are you ready Zangetsu? This shield looks tough."_

"_Are you sure that is wise Ichigo?"_

"_What do you mean?"_ Ichigo asked confused.

"_Think about it Ichigo, why is it that we have to break shield?"_ Zangetsu told him calmly.

"_To get him out of course, the fires aren't strong enough to break him out."_ Ichigo told him.

"_Ichigo, this is the Captain Commander, the man that is the boss of the Gotei 13 and has been a Shinigami for at __**least**__ 2000 years. Do you truly believe that a shield like this which we can break down can actually hold him?"_

Ichigo stayed silent as Zangetsu continued, _"Perhaps the fire is warning us to stay away."_

"_But why would he seal himself?"_

"_Think Ichigo, what is Muramasa's ability?"_ Zangetsu said with annoyance in his voice.

"_He manipulates and frees a Zanpakutō spirit."_

"_Exactly"_ Zangetsu nodded, _"Now can you imagine what would happen if the Captain-Commander's Zanpakutō was freed, from what we have heard, it is the strongest fire type Zanpakutō in history."_

"_That could be bad."_

"_I think that Muramasa wants us to destroy the barrier."_ Zangetsu concluded, _"It would explain why he is interested in us and also why those two Zanpakutō from before only targeted Yoruichi and let us pass."_

Ichigo nodded in understanding, Zangetsu made some fine points and it all made sense to and he would be stupid not to follow but there was still a concern. Just what was Muramasa's true goal? Was it truly to release all Zanpakutō? Or is there another motive behind it. He felt Zangetsu's approval at his thoughts, they were legitimate questions.

"_So that would mean that Yoruichi didn't find this place, he let her find it."_ Ichigo summed up as Zangetsu nodded.

"_Shall we go after Muramasa instead?"_ Ichigo asked.

"_Yes I think that would be best."_

It was then he felt something speed towards him from behind, he spun around as he saw a sword flying towards him but he battered it away with Zangetsu. However it went straight back to its owner whom was standing above him and Ichigo said,

"So you are here, Muramasa."

Muramasa landed on the ground a few metres away directly facing Ichigo and replied, "I'm impressed that you managed to find this place, Kurosaki Ichigo."

Ichigo scoffed, "Like hell you are, it is clear that you wanted us to come here or to be more precise; you wanted me here to break that barrier."

Muramasa's eyes widened in surprise and Ichigo asked him, "Enough games, what is your real goal? Majority of the Zanpakutō have been captured or returned to their Shinigami. Yet you don't seem to be interested in retrieving them."

"_Can he control you again?"_ Ichigo quickly asked Zangetsu and he responded,_ "No, it was highly effective when I was unfamiliar with it, but now I know what his voice is capable of. He can no longer influence me. His ability is that of an illusion, it deceives us."_

"My true goal?" Muramasa questioned, "Very well I will tell you. I am going to release my master from his sealed state and then get revenge on Soul Society."

"You're master?" Ichigo questioned confused, "Haven't you been yapping on about how a Zanpakutō has its own will and that it wasn't right for Shinigami to use them?"

"That was just something I said to get the Zanpakutō to follow me." Muramasa stated.

"If that is true, then why do you want control of Ji-san's Zanpakutō?"

"That is not my goal, just an added bonus. Thanks to Kuchiki Byakuya, I have the location of my master but only the Captain-Commander has the knowledge on how to break the seal. So I will need to enter his inner world to get the information and that is where you will come in Kurosaki Ichigo. A Hollowfied Getsuga while in Bankai will destroy the barrier."

Ichigo sneered, "What makes you think that I am going to do that?"

Muramasa looked smug, "Because if you don't, then your sisters will die."

Ichigo's eyes widened at the response, "W-What?"

"If you don't break the barrier, then your sisters will be killed by Senbonzakura."

"How did you know that I have sisters?" Ichigo questioned confusion lacing his voice.

"I know that you live in Karakura town, you have a single father, a deceased mother and two younger fraternal twin sisters. Karin and Yuzu correct?" Muramasa asked, but Ichigo remained silent so he continued, "Yuzu the more open, mother type who takes care of the household work while Karin, the cool, aloof type whom never cries and is always beating up your dad."

"HOW DO YOU KNOW THIS?"

"You're Inner world, is a city full of skyscrapers is it not?" He didn't let Ichigo answer, "When I enter someone's Inner world I can look at certain information such as, did you know that your 5 highest and studious buildings represent bonds with people connected to you?"

"What?" Ichigo asked him but he thought to Zangetsu, _"Is that true?"_

"_Yes"_ Zangetsu answered simply.

"Your mother, father, both your sisters and Kuchiki Rukia."

Ichigo blinked, his bond with Rukia was as strong as the ones with his family?

"Why did you get that information? If releasing your master was your goal why did you lure me here?"

"It was part of the deal I made, I had to get you involved and I had quick look around in your inner world when I released Zangetsu."

"What deal?"

"Enough questions Kurosaki Ichigo" Muramasa told him firmly, he wanted to hurry and release Koga, "Either you release the Captain Commander or your sisters die!"

Ichigo's eyes narrowed as hatred began seeping through his body but kept his cool and told him, "You're bluffing."

Muramasa's face didn't change, "Then call my bluff."

Ichigo's head bowed, as he thought about his predicament, this was Senbonzakura, like Byakuya would do **anything** to fulfil his duty. He could feel his arms shaking in anger and he growled, "You would kill two innocent little girls just to achieve your goals?"

Since Ichigo's head was bowed, he missed Muramasa flinch at the remark but kept his smug composure.

"_I have no choice, I can't risk it, and I can't let them die."_ Ichigo thought to himself.

"_Ichigo it is beginning to rain, you need to calm down and make a decision."_ Zangetsu told him.

"_I have to break the barrier; I won't let my sisters die."_ Ichigo answered him honestly.

"_So why does the rain continue to fall Ichigo?"_ Zangetsu asked him, _"Is it because you fear what you might unleash by doing this?"_

Ichigo didn't answer but the rain didn't let up making Zangetsu continue, _"If you do this, then it will be your responsibility. Whatever destruction could come from this decision will be your fault, so let me ask you Ichigo, so what?"_

Ichigo looked surprised, _"What do you mean? For all we know that this guy could be stronger than Ji-san."_

"_Is that a risk you are willingly to take? Will you give your life to stop whatever he releases?"_

"_If it's to protect my family and friends along with all the innocent people out there, then my answer is yes."_

"_So then your way forward is clear Ichigo! Cast away your fear, protect your family and swear you will defeat Muramasa and his master."_

"_Yeah, your right. I swear it!"_

The rain that fell in his inner world was swept away by the sun that shone from his determination and Zangetsu felt like he was in heaven.

"Fine" Ichigo told Muramasa, "Call Senbonzakura off and I will break the barrier. I give you my word."

Muramasa pulled out a Denreishinki, and made the call to Senbonzakura and told him to fall back.

"There it is done, now live up to your end."

"Fine" Ichigo said as he held his Zangetsu out in front of him, in the potion to activate his Bankai and mentally smirked when he realised that Muramasa was standing right in front of the barrier. It wouldn't hurt for him to go through Muramasa first who watched in fascination as he saw the mask forming on Ichigo's face.

"**BANKAI!"** Ichigo yelled with his voice having a hollow edge to it and he exploded in blue and black Reiatsu and Muramasa had to put a hand in front of his face because of the force of the explosion. When it had cleared, Ichigo stood in his Bankai with Tensa Zangetsu in his right hand and his hollow mask planted firmly on his face as he glared at Muramasa. He pointed his blade at Muramasa and began summoning Reiatsu into his sword forcing the blade to be covered in black and red Reiatsu. He lifted his sword above his head as he growled,

"**KUROI GETSUGA..."**

Yoruichi suddenly appeared through a passage way above them shouting, "Don't do it Ichigo!"

"**...TENSHO!"**

Ichigo swung Tensa Zangetsu down unleashing his most powerful Getsuga to date, and Muramasa's eyes widen as he realised that it was coming straight from him. He shunpoed away but not fast enough to avoid getting hit in the right arm as the Getsuga went on and collided into the barrier which gave way from the pressure.

Ichigo ripped off his mask as Ukitake and Kyōraku joined Yoruichi whom had shunpoed next to Ichigo and Yamamoto's eyes opened as he understood the barrier was destroyed. Muramasa quickly entered his Inner world and achieved what he was looking for and also released Ryūjin Jakka.

"We were too late" Kyōraku sighed and Ukitake explained to Ichigo,

"Muramasa wanted to use your power in-..."

"I already know what his intentions were" Ichigo cut him off but before they could question him further, Yamamoto shunpoed over to them.

"We've lost this round." Yamamoto said and explained to them, "He wanted to enter my Inner world."

All of the Shinigami looked confused except Ichigo while Muramasa said, "Indeed. I wanted to learn all of the memories that sleep deep within Genryūsai Yamamoto. In order to do so, I first had to enter his inner world but when I showed up he set himself in a barrier separating him from the outside world. He prevented me from entering his mind by going unconscious but I had anticipated that. The reason I materialized your Zanpakutō and threw Soul Society into turmoil was so I could buy time to figure out how to break the barrier. I made all of you Shinigami and your Zanpakutō believe that I wanted to start a Zanpakutō rebellion and captured Yamamoto myself. I'm sure you can work out why you are here."

Everyone except Ichigo and Yamamoto looked shocked and Muramasa grinned smugly at Ichigo and said, "However I didn't have the power to break it but through this rebellion I found one that did. You have my gratitude Kurosaki Ichigo, even though you figured out my goal, thank you for falling for my bluff."

Ichigo growled at him but before he could do anything, another voice spoke up, "What is the meaning of this?"

Ichigo noticed that four others were in the room; the one that spoke up was a tall, purple-haired woman with a red ribbon around her neck and an eye patch covering her right eye. Her left eye was turquoise and her hair was worn in two corkscrew pigtails with bangs framing her face. She wore an indigo cape with a skull imprint on it and a long, dark dress with a significantly low-cut neckline exposing her well-endowed bust. Her clothing resembled that of a high-class Japanese courtesan she also wore a golden bone headdress.

Next to her was a girl shorter and younger in appearance and she had turquoise eyes and chin length purple hair that was styled so that only her right eye is visible with a skull decorating it. She wore a dark top that covered her lower face, neck and arms, close-fitting shorts and knee length socks. Over this she wore a purple, hip-length coat fastened at the front by a dark purple sash. The middle of her chest and abdomen, as well as the top of her thighs, was left exposed.

There were also two young, identical twin boys with large, light green-coloured eyes, and short silver hair that was pulled back into ponytails. They wore identical light blue robes over kimonos, triangular-shaped hats, light beige hakama and blue shoes; their clothing resembled that of traditional Japanese Shinto priests.

"Are you saying that our rebellion was all just a front for your own plan?"

"That is what I just said Katen Kyōkotsu. Is that a problem?"

"Dam right it is." Katen responded, "I don't plan on following you now that I know the truth."

"You tricked us..."

"... No fair you liar" The twins Sōgyo no Kotowari said as all four readied their weapons whilst their Shinigami tried to get them to calm down.

"I'm out of here" Muramasa announced as he turned away, "Do as you like."

The Zanpakutō charged him but before they were able to attack him, a large fire surrounded him and enveloped them which killed them instantly.

"It's Ryūjin Jakka." Yamamoto stated before the flames grew to an even larger level and blew up the cave. However instead of harming the Shinigami, instead it surrounded them with only the now open sky visible.

Muramasa grinned down at them from his position as he hovered above them, "You no longer stand a chance against me, farewell Shinigami."

With that he disappeared into the flames as the Shinigami could only look on. However Ichigo wasn't going to let this go as it was his fault that Muramasa had got the info he needed, so with that in mind he jumped into the air and flew towards the opening. However like he had suspected, a wave of fire shot towards him from the left, but he battered it away with a wordless Getsuga from Tensa Zangetsu. He used Shunpo to dodge the next followed by another Getsuga but he was soon surrounded by a sphere of fire and he lacked energy to get by it as the heat was so intense that it was wearing him down.

Seconds later he was sent crashing face first into the ground as a wave of fire hit him in the back but thankfully for Ichigo it wasn't strong enough to break through his Bankai coat.

"Jōkaku Enjō" Yamamoto stated seeing Ichigo get up, "An immense wall of flame that surrounds the target and then forms a huge contained sphere of flame in which to imprison enemies. Its purpose is to keep them in, not to kill that is why you have minimum wounds."

Ichigo scowled, "Hey Ji-san, where is Muramasa going? Where is his master sealed?"

Yamamoto opened one eye and glanced at Ichigo and told him simply, "Karakura Town."

Ichigo's eyes widened before frowning, "I have to stop him!"

He prepared to try and breach through again when Yoruichi said, "Ichigo cal-..."

"Don't tell me to calm down!" Ichigo growled at her and they were all surprised at how angry he was, "He didn't deceive me, I knew full well that his goal was to break the barrier but he put me in the position that I had to."

"What do you mean?" Yoruichi asked.

"Have you all realised that Senbonzakura hasn't been here?" Seeing their nods well except Yamamoto whom continued to look at him with one eye open he continued, "Muramasa told me that if I didn't break it down, then Senbonzakura would kill my sisters and if I did, then he would order them off."

Yamamoto cut him off here, "Muramasa doesn't have it in him to kill innocents. Once his master started killing innocent people, Muramasa didn't agree which caused the first crack in their relationship and not long after that, Muramasa no longer responded to Koga's demands."

Ichigo nodded in understanding and thought, _"So Muramasa isn't that bad, he just wants reunited with his master."_

Ichigo then continued with what he was saying, "So I swore that when I broke the barrier that I would stop Muramasa, even if it meant sacrificing my life; it's my fault if his master is released and I have to clean it up."

Yamamoto looked on in interest, he had never been in Kurosaki's presence before except for witnessing him stop Kuchiki Rukia's execution until he had to deal with his two students. Many people thought he was a cold man that only cared about the wellbeing of Soul Society but what most didn't know is the guilt he felt for every Shinigami that had died in service. Now seeing Kurosaki, he was only a boy but a boy willing to face the consequences and fix his mistakes and he could also see the determination to protect those that he cared for seeping out of him. That was the major difference he could see between Kurosaki and Kūgo Ginjō, whom didn't have the human family support Kurosaki had.

"Very well Kurosaki Ichigo, if you feel responsible, then go stop Muramasa."

Ichigo nodded and shot up towards the gap once again but this time when he saw the fire coming towards him from the front, he stuck his sword above his head and pumped it with Reiatsu. The amount he poured in compared to the speed he was going made it so the Reiatsu didn't just cover the blade but his whole body and made it look like he was a missile. He broke through the first flame and then two flames shot at him, one on his right and one on his left but Ichigo expected this and lowered the sword to his chest and spun 360 degrees. He kept spinning and the Reiatsu that covered him form a cocoon that blocked the fire but unfortunately Ryūjin Jakka formed its own large missile of fire above Ichigo and shot it towards him.

Ichigo stopped spinning along with pumping Reiatsu and prepared to put on his mask to cut through that missile of fire when he heard a shout of, "Ryūsenka!"

The missile of fire was suddenly turned into a large block of ice and Ichigo saw Hitsugaya with his sword in the ice, but he looked different. Starting from the hand that held his sword, it was covered in ice in the shape of a dragon's head that was covered around his sword hand, encasing the sword up to the hilt. The ice continued forming up over his shoulders with two large wings sprouting from his back and a long tail. The ice also formed down his left arm encasing his hand which ends in a claw and his feet was encased in ice in a similar manner to his left hand which as they too ended in claws.

"Get going Kurosaki." He yelled at him as the fire started melting the ice along with other waves of ice heading towards them. Ichigo nodded and pulled on his mask and flew past Hitsugaya, placing a foot on his shoulder and using that as a spring, he was able to escape the Jōkaku Enjō and headed towards Karakura town.

"Hollowfication?" Yamamoto murmured as Hitsugaya landed with Hyōrinmaru, "He dabbed into gaining Hollow powers?"

"No Yama-jii" Kyōraku told him, "We asked him about it not long ago and he told us the story of how he got his Shinigami powers and I can assure you gaining Hollow powers were not his intention."

"Explain to me in detail later." Yamamoto ordered and then he pulled out his sword, "For now it is about time I punish my Zanpakutō."

**Karakura town**

He was almost there, almost to reuniting with his long lost master, the man he was willing to do anything for.

He was only a few hundred metres away, he could see the lake and the island in the middle but then it happened. His eyes started bleeding and he collapsed to his knees and coughed up blood as he felt the Hollow he had absorbed in order to maintain his form rise up and try to take over and blacked out.

When he awoke he was surprised to see that he was lying down with his back on the grass and with a barrier around him. He looked up to see one of Kurosaki Ichigo's friends that he had learned when he was in his inner world, Inoue Orihime.

He could feel his strength returning and he had to ask, "Why are you here?"

"Urahara-san said someone had coming to the living world and so I went to check it out" She answered honestly.

"You're friends with that Substitute Shinigami so why are you helping me?"

"Why? I can't look the other way when I see someone hurt."

He looked at her with a frown, "I am Kurosaki Ichigo's enemy."

"I thought you might be" Inoue said as she looked away, "But even so, I can't just abandon you. I mean you looked like you were really suffering."

His eyes widened as he remembered why he blacked out and where he was. Seeing his Reiatsu flare up, Inoue immediately collapsed the shield as Muramasa sat up with a dark aura surrounding him.

Inoue looked surprised at the feeling of his Reiatsu, _"What's this? His Reiatsu feels like an Arrancar's."_

Muramasa quickly shunpoed away as a hail of small blue Reiatsu arrows shot into the spot where he was sitting and Inoue spun around to see Ishida and Chad both in their school uniform.

Chad had his new arm activated whilst Ishida was holding a bow that she had never seen before, it seemed to be in the shape like a spider's web and he wore the glove Urahara had given him.

"Ishida-kun, Sado-kun" Inoue said happily.

They just nodded to her in acknowledgement as Muramasa reappeared a few metres away directly in front of them and while Chad checked on Inoue, Ishida questioned,

"Are you a guest from Soul Society?

Muramasa just grinned at them and Ishida commented, "This Reiatsu is different from a Shinigami or an Arrancar. What are you?"

Muramasa ignored him and leapt towards them and swung his sword at them but they both jumped out of the way. Chad sped towards him and attempted to punch him in the face with his Brazo Derecha de Gigante but Muramasa ducked under it and Ishida shot another wave of arrows at him but he dodged them with Shunpo.

He reappeared at the edge of the grass, a metre before the lake and once again dodged Chad whom this time had used his energy blast; El Directo.

Just as Ishida had located Muramasa again and about to fire off another attack he was cut off by a wave of Sakura petals cut him off and Senbonzakura stood in front of Muramasa facing Ishida.

"So he is part of the Zanpakutō rebellion." Ishida murmured as he realised that this was Kuchiki Byakuya's Zanpakutō if what Ganju had told him in was accurate. Senbonzakura slashed his sword sending Sakura petals at Ishida whom was able to avoid them using Hirenkyaku as Chad began running towards Senbonzakura to help but Ishida barked,

"No Sado-kun, this is the worst opponent for you! Let me deal with him."

Chad seemed to struggle to decide but in the head gave a nod in acceptance and turned his attention to Muramasa but Muramasa already activated one of his illusions that he could use thanks to his master Koga. Once Chad was trapped in the illusion and completely defenceless, Muramasa was able to knock him out with ease and he told a concerned Inoue,

"He is out of the fight"

With that he began walking towards the island where his master was sealed but was cut off by Ishida whom fired a single more powerful arrow at Muramasa but he just batted it away with one hand. A wave of Sakura petals collided with Ishida and he was sent skidding back towards Inoue who was trying to heal Chad.

Ishida scowled as he thought, _"I chose to learn how to use the __Ginrei Kojaku____as I believed that Aizen would have a large amount of ordinary hollow at his disposal. With this I could eliminate them no problem but it is not really meant to be used for a one on one fight. If I had mastered __**that **__then this would be a lot easier."_

"Bankai" Senbonzakura said as he unleashed the large wave towards Ishida but before he could try and counter Inoue yelled,

"Santen Kesshun!"

A barrier surrounded Ishida and the Sakura petals collided with it but were unable to break through it much to Ishida and Senbonzakura's shock.

Ishida glanced at Inoue's determined expression and thought, _"Has her shield always been this powerful? It was able to stop an attack from a Bankai. However I have never seen that look of determination in her face, does her abilities respond to how strong her will is?"_

"Why are you doing this?" She asked Muramasa and was answered with a confused look, "I saw it in your eyes earlier. You bear some sort of terrible, deep sadness within yourself so why are you...?"

"Don't act like you've got me figured out, wench!" Muramasa said annoyed, "What could you possibly understand about me? My name is Muramasa and I have the power to change the world!"

Just as Muramasa was engulfed in a red and black aura, there was a shout my behind him in the sky,

"Hadō #33: Sōkatsui!"

A large blue ball of Reiatsu headed straight for him, the aura disappeared and brushed the attack aside with his sword. Rukia landed next to Inoue with her sword drawn in its Shikai state as she prepared to fight Muramasa along with her brothers Zanpakutō.

"Are you okay Inoue? Ishida?"

"More or less" Ishida responded.

"But Sado-kun" Inoue protested worriedly as she glanced at Sado unconscious on the ground.

Rukia gave a fleeting look at Sado's prone body and muttered, "Sado..."

"Kuchiki Rukia, how did you find us here?" Muramasa questioned.

"I just had to track Nii-sama's Reiatsu."

"Track his Reiatsu? Kuchiki-san, what's going on?" Ishida asked.

"I'll explain things later. For now, be careful! This is the man who materialized our Zanpakutō and threw Seireitei into a state of chaos." Rukia told him.

"Then what is he doing in the real world?" Ishida asked but then another more important question entered his head, "Where is Kurosaki?"

It was Muramasa that answered, "He's probably been burned alive by Ryūjin Jakka's hellfire."

"Ryūjin Jakka? You couldn't have taken over the Captain-Commander's Zanpakutō, too." Rukia said shocked.

"I assure you I did" Was his reply but Inoue spoke up, "You're bluffing! I know Kurosaki-kun will definitely come back!"

"That man is-..." Muramasa was cut off as he started coughing up blood once again, it was getting harder to maintain his form, he needed to get Koga out and enter his Inner World to recover.

"Muramasa?" Senbonzakura question concerned but Muramasa shook his head and told him, "I'm okay, but I am running out of time."

He released a large amount of hollow Reiatsu and everyone's eyes widened when a group of Hollows exited out of the Reiatsu.

"That Reiatsu from earlier... I knew it" Inoue confirmed.

"How did you summon Hollow? Aren't you a Zanpakutō? What the hell are you trying to do here?" Rukia inquired.

"I am 100% a Zanpakutō, one with the power to change the world. I am about to be freed from a lone battle that has continued for ages! Take care of them!"

With that he shunpoed away as the Hollow charged towards the three whilst Ishida smirked, this was where his bow dominated. He fired a volley of arrows towards the hollow but a wall of Sakura petals created by Senbonzakura blocked them off followed by forming into another attack.

Ishida swore at the incoming petals and dodged out of the way by using Hirenkyaku while the Hollows charged towards Rukia and Inoue.

"Inoue, get Sado somewhere safe." Inoue nodded and dragged Sado away as Rukia punctured the ground in front of her four times in a semi circle with her sword. She then took a battle stance as the ice particles began to flow up from the punctures she made in the ground. They build up and then fired toward the Hollow in a massive, powerful pure-white wave of ice from Sode no Shirayuki's blade. The Hollow were encased in a large block of Ice before it shattered, their bodies along with it.

However this was all Muramasa needed as he stood in front of the place with the barrier and had his hand upon it muttering,

"Offer the holy chalice to the evil spirit residing behind the seal, lifting the six locks that have been passed down since antiquity."

The Island had moments when it was surrounded by electricity as the barrier began crumbling much to Ishida's concern.

"Dammit, we have to do something fast." Ishida said firing more arrows at Senbonzakura but were deflected with no trouble, _"Dammit, my arrows are too weak to do any damage"_ He thought furiously, preparing another round. However what Senbonzakura didn't take notice of was that Ishida was dropping small silver items on the ground in certain places.

"Now open, coffin once lost!" Muramasa finished as the trees all shattered into broken pieces of glass and fell onto the ground as Rukia whom had tried to get there in time could only look on in confusion.

"Was that... a seal?"

Senbonzakura reformed his sword as he appeared above Ishida and slash downwards but was astonished to see that Ishida had blocked by what appeared to be a sword. It had a thin, silver-colour handle that sported a glowing blue blade. As they both struggled for dominance, Senbonzakura commented,

"I never thought I'd see a Quincy use a sword. However you will never defeat me with a weapon you're not accustomed to wielding!"

Using a burst of Reiatsu, he sent Ishida skidding back and lifted his sword above his head and said, "It's over Quincy."

When the sword transformed into Sakura petals something was wrong as he had no control over the petals.

Ishida smirked at him, "Seele Schneider isn't a sword. It's a weapon that weakens the bonds between Reishi, making them easier for me to steal."

All of the petals suddenly turned into blue Reishi and began being absorbed by Ishida's Seele Schneider.

"Impossible" Senbonzakura said shocked but Ishida continued smirking and then stabbed the Seele Schneider into the ground and commented as he noticed where his opponent was standing.

"It seems you didn't notice" Ishida told him much to his confusion until his he realised that Reishi under his feet had been gathered. Also that it shot out into fire directions and the edge was a pentagon shape and Ishida held a Gintō with held Reiatsu in liquid form. He tipped the Ginto releasing the liquid onto the top of the Seele Schneider which activated the technique and everything inside the pentagon was covered in an explosion of Reiatsu.

The result was a Senbonzakura with his samurai armour damaged as he fell onto his knees and Ishida took off into the direction of Muramasa.

Muramasa stood in front of black coffin-like box with chains wrapping around it and four spears that pierced the box all at once.

"I've finally made it here" Muramasa said in wonder as he approached the coffin.

"Hadō #33: Sōkatsui!"

He spun around sword in hand to deflect the ball of Reiatsu and growled as he saw Kuchiki Rukia trying to prevent him from releasing his master.

Rukia prepared to hit him with one of Sode no Shirayuki's ice attacks, Muramasa shunpoed behind her and grabbed her wrists and pulled them behind her back. Rukia grimaced in pain but Muramasa only held them to restrain not to break or dislocate them, Ishida seeing this was about to help out but was suddenly cut off by Senbonzakura.

He was panting heavily and struggling to stay on his feet but determined to stop Ishida and launched a wave of Sakura petals from a new sword and Ishida retaliated with a volley of arrows.

"What is that? What are you going to do?" Rukia questioned.

"Inside that coffin rests my master, Koga, a powerful Shinigami who once tried to take over Soul Society." Muramasa informed her.

"What?" Rukia asked shocked as she struggled to break his hold with no luck.

"I wish for Koga to be revived. Everything has been for this one final moment." Muramasa said and his eyes glowed purple as Electricity crackled around the coffin and the chains broke off. The coffin was then surrounded by purple Reiatsu until the coffin began cracking in all areas and blue Reiatsu begun to leak out. There was soon an explosion as the spears were sent into the ground and the coffin reduces to nothing and their hovering in mid air was his master.

Kōga had piercing green eyes and shoulder length black hair and a long ponytail of red hair, with short tufts of red hair on the left side of his head. He was topless with a long red scarf and a light lavender obi sash, with a beaded-necklace with a pendent. He also had a metal band across his nose and ears, and because of the amount of time he was sealed, he was reduced to a withered-old version of his former self. He was also holding a broken Katana.

Muramasa threw Rukia away as he looked on at his master in joy and awe but as he prepared to walk over to his master a voice yelled out,

"Hold it right there!"

Muramasa's eyes widened as he recognised the voice and he quickly summoned his sword to block the overhead strike from Ichigo and threw him away. Ichigo landed a few metres away in his Bankai from Rukia whom looked at him in relief whilst Ishida stopped fighting as he took notice.

"Dam you!" Muramasa glared at him but Ichigo paid no attention as he looked at Rukia and told her, "Sorry I am later Rukia."

Rukia got up with a smile and replied, "You idiot."

Ichigo scowled at her but as they were about to sink into their usual banter, Muramasa asked,

"How did you escape Ryūjin Jakka?"

"Doesn't matter. I am not going to let you pull this off."

"I see." Muramasa noted, "But I am afraid you have arrived a tad too late."

Ichigo glared at the floating figure as Muramasa turned his back on him laughing and said, "At long last, my dream has come true!"

Electricity continued to crackle around Koga who landed and was able to take in his surroundings and Ichigo took notice of it.

"Dammit, he is conscious now."

"Ichigo, let's go!" Rukia ordered to which Ichigo agreed and they both charged towards Koga however as they closed in they were blown back from the power of Reiatsu Koga released.

"That is some Reiatsu." Ichigo commented.

"I can't believe he has this much Reiatsu after having been sealed away for so long..." Rukia said in disbelief.

"Have you awakened Koga?" Muramasa asked as he stepped closer, "You have no idea how long I've waited for this! Waiting to see you, waiting to hear your voice for centuries! Now let's make your dreams come true!"

He stepped right up to his master but suddenly found a blade in his gut and looked confused as Koga glared at him hatefully.

"Wh-why?"

Muramasa wasn't the only one confused, both Ichigo and Rukia were taken back at the sudden turn of events.

"You didn't come, even though I called for you when I was about to get sealed away." Koga told him angrily further increasing Muramasa's confusion.

"You called for me?"

"You refused to lend me your power."

"You were calling for me?" Muramasa repeated shocked, "I never heard you, I swear. I waited for you to call me for so long. I've always wanted to help you with all of my body and soul no matter how dire the situation, whenever you called for me." Muramasa bowed in front of him, "But I went so long without ever hearing your voice. Eventually I found out that you had been sealed away and that is why I worked so hard to release the seal. So very long..."

Muramasa held out his hand to Koga but Koga angrily responded, "What's the point if you're not there when I need you?"

He pulled the sword out of Muramasa's stomach and kicked him away, "As your Shinigami, I'm the one that created your powers! You're supposed to do everything that I tell you to."

"Weren't we comrades?" Muramasa asked him.

"Comrades? You're nothing more than a sword. You're just a tool! Don't be cocky, tool!" He then held his sword in the air and swung downwards aiming to kill Muramasa but was blocked by Kuchiki Byakuya.

Muramasa looked shocked at the person defending him while Ichigo and Rukia were shocked at the look on Byakuya's face.

"I can't believe you called your own sword a tool and attacked it. You don't deserve the title of 'Shinigami'" Byakuya said not hiding the disgust in his voice or in his expression.

Koga ignored him as he took notice of certain attires Byakuya was wearing, "That silvery-white windflower scarf and those Kenseikan; you must be from the Kuchiki family."

"I am Kuchiki Byakuya, the 28th head of the Kuchiki family."

"The 28th head" Koga mused, "I see, a great deal of time has passed since I was imprisoned. So has Ginrei kicked the bucket yet?"

"I don't want to hear his name pass your lips again." Byakuya told him sternly, "You have no right to speak it after you soiled the Kuchiki house's honour."

"Fuck you..." Koga growled.

"Nii-sama what is going on?" Rukia asked but Senbonzakura appeared, still in poor condition and explained to them, "This fight is over the Kuchiki family's honour."

Rukia looked baffled at this while Ichigo asked, "Weren't you under Muramasa's control?"

"Yes, I fell under Muramasa's spell once, but Byakuya was able to snap me out of it however instead of going back to him, he made me stay out to infiltrate. His grandfather, Ginrei told him about Muramasa and his master Koga, and was told that if the seal should break, then it was the head of the Kuchiki house responsibility to kill him. Byakuya visited the library in hopes of finding out more about Koga but there weren't any records of him and so he figured that the information had been hidden from public."

"I can't believe that Shinigami Koga used to be part of the Kuchiki family." Rukia said while Ichigo asked,

"Why did he have to pretend to betray everyone?"

"It was all so we could find where Koga had been sealed away! Simply killing Muramasa would have been meaningless. We needed to kill Koga and so I pretended to still be brainwashed but I was still having a hard time to figure out where Koga had been sealed. So Byakuya had to stay near Muramasa, regardless of how his friends would take it, he did it all for his duty as the head of the Kuchiki family."

"Are you planning to seal me away?" Koga inquired.

"No I cannot allow you to live any longer. I will kill you for having soiled our family name."

"Well you are arrogant enough to be part of the family. Whatever, I have plenty of reason to fight you if you're truly the head of the Kuchiki house!"

Muramasa stood up painfully and said, "Koga, use me. My power is always with you."

Koga smirked at him and held out his blade towards him, and Muramasa looked at him hopefully thinking that he was going to summon him back. However, Koga snapped the blade in two much to everyone's horror as Muramasa collapsed to his knees.

"You will just get in my way. I don't have to use an unstable sword like you. I can handle this on my own."

You fucking bastard!" Ichigo roared angrily, "Don't you understand what a Zanpakutō is?"

"A Zanpakutō is merely a tool. I can always find a replacement." Koga responded in a bored tone as Muramasa began shaking and held his throat, as Hollow Reiatsu began leaking out of him. Whatever resolve that he had that held the hollow in was now broken and the hollow Reiatsu erupted forcing everyone to jump in the air.

"Despair has made him lose control of his Reiatsu." Rukia acknowledged.

From the Reiatsu, a large group of Menos Grande appeared much to everyone's astonishment.

"How foolish" Byakuya said before leaping towards the Menos intending to destroy them however before he could, the three he was targeting was suddenly killed by a Getsuga.

"Kurosaki Ichigo!" Byakuya began but Ichigo interrupted him with an annoyed glare,

"Go fight Koga! That is your duty isn't it? Don't waste energy fight them, leave them to use."

"Nii-sama" Rukia said Shunpoing next to him smiling at him as he stared at her for a moment and was glad to see the understanding look in her eyes.

"Let's go Ichigo" She told him and they charged the Menos and began obliterating them while Byakuya summoned Senbonzakura and they went to confront Koga.

No matter how many they destroyed, more took their place and it wasn't just Menos Grande, but hundreds of ordinary hollow as well.

"This is bad! His Reiatsu not just releasing Hollow, its attracting them to" Rukia said and Ichigo agreed.

"Ordinary Hollow might be weak but with the amount that there is, it is going to wear us down." Ichigo said a she unleashed a Getsuga that was big enough to wipe out 20 hollow but then they were replaced by another 30.

"Son of a bitch" Ichigo growled as he prepared to hit them with another Getsuga when his eyes widened as hundreds of arrows shot past him and started killing a shit load of hollow. He spun around to see Ishida on the ground with his bow aimed into the sky.

"Ishida" Ichigo acknowledged.

Ishida smirked at him, "I'd say my bow's better suited to fighting large groups of enemies than one ridiculous sword."

Ichigo looked away resting Tensa Zangetsu on his shoulder, "That thing is like a can of bug spray."

"Shut Up! Or I will target you next" Ishida said annoyed but before Ichigo could make a snappy comeback, Inoue and a healed Chad arrived. Ichigo landed in front of them along with Rukia but before Ichigo could say anything, one of the Menos Grande fired a Cero at them and Ichigo was about to block it with the Getsuga Tentate but Inoue beat him to the punch.

"Santen Kesshun!"

Her shield repelled the barrier with ease however before they could thank her, all of the hollows including the Menos began being sucked back in towards Muramasa. Once all of the hollow were absorbed there was an explosion of Reiatsu and Muramasa had transformed.

His form was now an armoured version of his former self, complete with long shoulder-pads and a helmet-like mask similar in appearance to a stag beetle with its long horns with eyeholes similar to his sword's tsuba design. He had furry tufts around his neck and collarbone, his eyes are glowing red and his arms were long and slender with long curved blades sticking out from his elbows. His Hollow hole was where his heart would be with fang-like protrusions around it.

"Is that Muramasa?" Ichigo asked.

"It looks like an Arrancar." Ishida stated.

"Zanpakutō share their body and soul with their respective Shinigami. They bond with their master's soul and live in symbiosis." Rukia explained and Ishida continued,

"Meaning he needed a new source of energy to replace his Shinigami in order to maintain himself."

"That's probably why he absorbed those entire Hollow." Rukia said as the Hollowfied Muramasa began exerting his Reiatsu concerning Rukia.

"At this rate, his Reiatsu will engulf all of Karakura town! We've got to stop him before that happens!"

Muramasa stopped powering up before charging towards the group at a fast speed as they all got in a defensive stance. His elbow blade connected with Ichigo's sword as pushed Ichigo back as Ichigo gave him an annoyed glare, why was it always him targeted first. Muramasa forced him into the air and charged him once again but was able to dodge the volley of arrows that Ishida fired at him.

He turned around and charged Ishida whom was able to dodge thanks to his Hirenkyaku and Ichigo attempted to slice him from above but Muramasa blocked it with his blades. Muramasa began charging a large purple cero and instead of firing at Ichigo, he aimed it at Rukia and Inoue but it was blocked by a wall of Sakura petals.

A slightly banged up Byakuya stood a few metres away from him and Rukia ran over to him and told him sincerely, "I'm glad you're safe Nii-sama. We need to treat your injuries."

Byakuya shook his head, "Never mind me. We need to deal with him first. He must have completely transformed into a Hollow to be able to fire a Cero."

Muramasa began powering up again but this time there was something different and they heard him say, "Never! I won't lose to the hollows powers!"

"He is resisting the hollow he's absorbed?" Rukia asked shocked.

However a few minutes of struggle, Ichigo noticed that he had lost and the Hollow was about to attack so he shunpoed ahead just as Muramasa attacked. Ichigo blocked the overhead strike, and pushed him back before going on the offensive while everyone just watched waiting for an opening.

Ichigo was unable to land a decisive blow due to his hesitancy as he allowed the hollow to go on the offensive, he was more powerful and faster than Muramasa but his attacks were predictable. Ichigo continued to dodge and block his attacks as his mind wandered was this what he was like when he was in his inner battle, strong and fast but predictable?

His thoughts were cut off as Muramasa jumped into the air and fired a Cero at him but Ichigo raised his blade and said, "Getsuga Tentate."

The shield appeared and blocks the purple cero with no trouble and Ichigo decided it was time to try and overpower him quickly. His left arm went to his face as he prepared to summon his mask, this would be the first time he would put it on in a fight with his Bankai activated except for that brief moment against Ulquiorra.

"_No don't Ichigo!"_ Tensa suddenly spoke up as Ichigo's eyes widened.

"_Why not?"_

"_Muramasa absorbed those entire hollow, so what is stopping him from absorbing your hollow Reiatsu? He seems to instinctively absorb hollow Reiatsu, remember that not all of the hollow that appeared came from him but were lured because of the Reiatsu. You Hollowfied might just strengthen him, besides your current strength is more than enough."_

"_You may be right."_ Ichigo conceded as he deactivated his Getsuga Tentate and charged towards Muramasa now with the intent to cut him down. After several minutes of being overpowered, Muramasa flew back and began charging a cero as Ichigo gathered Reiatsu into his sword and both fired them.

The Getsuga cut through the cero along with slicing through Muramasa's right shoulder down to his waist but was instantly regenerated much to Ichigo's annoyance. Muramasa then unleashed more Reiatsu that shot up into the sky and cracks appeared and Ichigo came to a realisation and charged towards Muramasa intending to stop him.

However hollows started appearing before Ichigo and he was forced to cut through them in order to get towards Muramasa. However none of the hollows were being absorbed by Muramasa which Ichigo took notice over and rubbed it in Tensa's face for being wrong much to his annoyance. Seeing that hundreds of hollow had appeared, Ichigo shunpoed several times past hollow thanks to his Bankai speed, slashing them as he past; as he did this, Ishida and the others dealt with majority of the hollow.

Just as Ichigo came within a few metres of Muramasa, he ripped on the mask and hit him with a Kuroi Getsuga Tensho which successfully stopped Muramasa's rampage. Ichigo took the mask off as Muramasa descended to the ground and Ichigo slowly followed him however Muramasa began another transformation much to Ichigo's horror. He became a huge and horrific dome-like structure that gradually grew and engulfed Ichigo but also due to its large unstable Reiatsu it tore open a huge Garganta, which also began to draw forth countless Gillians.

**Inside the Structure **

Ichigo had blacked out when he was engulfed but awoke under water and resurfaced before looking around in confusion. There was just a never ending ocean with large stone pillars sticking out but his answer would soon be answered as he heard a voice behind him.

"Kurosaki Ichigo?" He spun around to see Muramasa back in his normal form walking on water, "I didn't expect to see you here. How did you get here?"

"No idea" Ichigo told him confused, "Where is this anyway?"

"You can't tell?" Muramasa asked, "Just like your Zanpakutō has a home within your inner world, I used to have one, too."

"But how?"

"I don't know either. Did my reunion with Koga drag me here or is this merely an illusion? In either case, it is going to fall apart very soon." Just as he said that, a pillar broke off and fell into the water.  
>"But that aside, I am truly grateful for how intertwined our fates are. Fate has given me the chance to finish our fight!"<p>

He summoned his sword and attacked Ichigo whom remained defensively and asked, "Why? There is no reason for us to fight anymore!"

He pushed Muramasa away from him but Muramasa told him, "You're soft! Your power will nourish me. I must fight until I can't fight anymore."

He charged towards Ichigo with his blade glowing purple but missed as Ichigo shunpoed out of the way, however Muramasa then fired a purple blast of Reiatsu at the spot Ichigo shunpoed to. Ichigo appeared high above Muramasa as the blast headed towards him, in response he charged a Getsuga but instead of firing it, he kept it on his blade and battered the attack way. His eyes widened however when he noticed that Muramasa was no longer there and spun around as he sensed him from behind and he noticed Muramasa raise his right hand towards him.

Not wanting to wait around for the attack, Ichigo launched the Getsuga Tensho at Muramasa but with his sword in his left hand, he cut through the blast with a smug smirk on his face. Ichigo scowled; if Muramasa could take out a Getsuga at that level he would have no choice but to fight Hollowfied.

His hollow Reiatsu began surrounding him and he pulled on his mask and his yellow eyes glared ferociously at the gleeful look on Muramasa's face.

"Good Kurosaki Ichigo! Fight me with all of your power!"

"**You won't be that smug for long!" **Ichigo told him as he lifted his sword into the air and prepared to launch an attack when his arm suddenly froze. It felt like some type of rope had wrapped around it tightly but before he could try and break free, the rest of his body was wrapped up in it. He was forced into a position where he was directly facing the water and could no longer move his body.

"It is over Kurosaki Ichigo, you cannot escape from my blade"

"**Like hell it is"** Ichigo growled as he continued trying to break free but it was useless however his eyes widened when he saw the reflection in the water. There were threads coming out of Muramasa's back and wrapped around Ichigo and some of them were still moving. It was that that caught Ichigo's interest, looking back towards Muramasa, he couldn't see any evidence that they were actually there. Even though they were invisible, he should still be able to detect a hint of movement in the air, nor could he sense any Reiatsu where the threads should be. Although he could sense Muramasa's Reiatsu along the water and a theory came to mind, so far Muramasa used Illusions to his advantage and that gave him an idea.

"You're finished." Muramasa informed him but before he could attack, Ichigo's Reiatsu sky rocketed as he tried to force his way out and fired a small Getsuga towards the water. Te result created a large splash and the image of threads was disrupted and Ichigo was freed from his confines and Muramasa looked shocked that Ichigo figured it out.

Now with his body free and seeing the surprised look on Muramasa's face Ichigo did something he had never considered that he would do with his hollow mask on. He laughed loudly. The laugh was cold and chilling; it sent shivers down Muramasa's spine.

"**That is an interesting ability, but I've seen through it and with my ability to use Getsuga Tensho, I can counter accordingly."**

"So you were able to figure it out, I am surprised you were able to."

"**It's just like Zangetsu explained to me earlier"** Ichigo told him as he remembered what Zangetsu had told him earlier, **"You use an illusion to deceive the Zanpakutō to leaving their Shinigami and you can only use those threads when there is a reflective surface to ****manifest them. If the reflective surface is disrupted, then those threads vanish. You are an Illusionary type Zanpakutō!"**

"You have a better analytical mind then I thought Kurosaki."

Ichigo scoffed, **"Not really, Zangetsu gave me the hints and I just worked them out."**

He lifted Tensa Zangetsu into the air, he was sick of talking, it was time that he ended this fight, plus he didn't know how long he could keep his mask on while in Bankai. He slashed downwards and the force cut through the water and a wave rose around them and Muramasa was surprised out how big it was as he could see the sand at the bottom of the water. Ichigo charged towards him and as he got close, Muramasa attempted to strike his head but met nothing but air. He didn't have much time to react as a foot connected into his left side and he went flying into the wave of water that had started descending.

Recovering from the block he shot out of the water and spun around lifting his sword level with his face to block the slash from Ichigo. Ichigo grinned under his mask as he could see that Muramasa was struggling to hold his strike and began gathering Reiatsu along his blade.

"**Kuroi Getsuga Tensho!"**

The attack enveloped Muramasa and he was sent back a few metres, bruised and bleeding on his chest along with his forehead. Ichigo shot towards him once again and noticed the threads coming towards him from the reflection in the water and with his left hand; he shot a Bala that was strong enough to cause a large enough effect in the water to disrupt the attack. Muramasa scowled but it was short lived as Ichigo vanished from sight and his eyes widened as he heard Ichigo behind him.

"**You were wrong, it is you who is finished!"**

Muramasa spun around but was unable to block or dodge and Tensa Zangetsu pierced his chest. Ichigo just looked blankly into the shocked face of Muramasa, he didn't enjoy this part of a fight, and he didn't enjoy having to kill his enemies even though he was protecting his friends and family. Hollows were purified when a Shinigami killed them, so he had no trouble taking them out but he didn't know what would happen to Muramasa.

He didn't have much time to think about it as Muramasa's shocked face turned into a smile giving Ichigo a bad feeling before Muramasa's body turned see through followed by disappearing. Ichigo's eyes widened as he felt a slash across his back, using his hollow Reiatsu, he healed the wound quickly and spun around attacking Muramasa.

However no matter how much stronger or faster Ichigo was he kept killing Muramasa's illusions and he was quickly becoming frustrated. He charged towards Muramasa again but this time he glanced at the water and saw Muramasa's reflection, and like before he fired a Bala to disrupt the water and attacked Muramasa. Unfortunately he slashed through another clone, and seeing that it wasn't similar to the way his threads were, he gave a large roar of frustration.

He saw a grinning Muramasa a few metres away to his left, and the grin further infuriated him, so he began pumping a lot of Reiatsu into Tensa Zangetsu. With this attack he would make sure it was big enough to hit Muramasa wherever he was hiding, and began spinning it above his head on the chain and he shouted,

"**KUROI GETSUGA TENSHO!"**

The blast shot out in all directions, destroying many of the pillars in the world as Ichigo panted heavily, his mask beginning to crack however he couldn't see Muramasa.

"I am up here" A voice spoke up from above and Ichigo's eyes widened as he realised that he hadn't thought of firing above him. His hands tightened on the handle of his sword but before he could charge him, he was suddenly surrounded by 7 Muramasa and they attacked him together. Ichigo still had no trouble following their movements and he cut through many of them but each time he did, they would be replaced with another. However just as he slashed through another illusion, and noticed another two coming at him from opposite sides he failed to notice the one above.

The Muramasa above him began charging purple Reiatsu into his blade and fired it towards Ichigo and hit him in the back sending him crashing on to the top of one of the pillars. Ichigo sat up on his knees painfully; glaring up at Muramasa, the left side of his mask was shattered as he panted slightly.

"**Fuck"** Ichigo muttered angrily, **"How the hell am I supposed to hit him?"**

"_Calm down Ichigo"_ Tensa spoke up with a mixture of annoyance and anger in his voice, _"His ability has been able to alter your five senses slightly. You are so angry and frustrated that you are letting it get to you, let go of your senses Ichigo and let me be your senses."_

"_**You be my senses?"**_ Ichigo asked confused.

"_Yes"_ Tensa confirmed, _"But first release your Hollowfication, it's only a distraction right now. Your current power in your Bankai along with my senses is more than enough."_

Ichigo nodded as he stood up and crushed the rest of his mask much to Muramasa's confusion.

"Giving up Kurosaki Ichigo?"

Ichigo ignored him as he closed his eyes and he felt Tensa's spirit begin to merge with him. He was amazed at the result, even with his eyes closed he could see what was going on outside, it was a weird feeling. He now understood the feeling of looking through somebody else's eyes but he could feel that he still had control over his body.

He shot towards Muramasa and clashed blades once again. Seeing that Ichigo no longer had his hollow power aiding him, Muramasa no longer had to keep spamming Illusion copies of himself and was somewhat able to keep up with Ichigo.

Ichigo kept up the attack, the strength and speed between them was currently even but only because Ichigo was getting used to the feeling of looking through Tensa Zangetsu's senses. He parried Muramasa's latest strike that was aiming for his chest and kicked him in the stomach. Muramasa bent over in pain from the unexpected blow and with his left fist, Ichigo punched him in the face sending him straight in the water.

Muramasa shot out of the water heading towards Ichigo, but he was going in slow motion to him as he began to feel comfortable with this new style of fighting and parried easily. Muramasa tried to pierce Ichigo's head but missed as Ichigo dodged to the left and swung his sword upwards towards Muramasa's chest but Muramasa turned into a clone.

Ichigo could now see this easily and he shunpoed away as Muramasa sword struck just where he was. Muramasa spun around only for Ichigo's foot to connect with his face and sent him straight into a pillar.

Muramasa got back up painfully, but before he could unleash another attack, Ichigo appeared behind him attempted to slice at his back but hit an illusion. Ichigo didn't break stride as he knew that Muramasa was attempting to attack his back, he positioned his sword over his shoulder to protect his back and whispered, "Getsuga Tentate"

The blue shield emerged from Tensa Zangetsu and covered Ichigo's body as Muramasa's sword who scowled as he couldn't break it. There was a pulse of Reiatsu from the shield that sent Muramasa back a few inches and he looked on curiously as the shield seem to shrink until it came to the point where it just surrounded Ichigo's sword. His eyes widened as realisation on what was happening came to mind but before he could do anything, Ichigo had spun around and swung his sword releasing the pent up energy and yelled,

"Getsuga Tensho!"

Muramasa succumbed to the power of Ichigo's attack and was sent flying into a pillar. After a few moments of painfully getting himself off the pillar and landed on top of the water and glared up at Ichigo whom was standing calmly on a pillar.

The last Getsuga damaged him terribly, he had a cut that went from his left hip up to his right shoulder and was bleeding freely, but the worse thing was that his sword was broken in half. Looking closely at Ichigo he finally understood how he was able to counter his illusions all of a sudden; his eyes were closed meaning that his Zanpakutō was aiding him.

"Of course, you have Tensa Zangetsu helping you."

Muramasa jumped towards Ichigo and attacked with his broken sword, but Ichigo stabbed Tensa Zangetsu into the ground and caught the attack in his left hand. Instinctively pumping Reiatsu into his right fist, he punched Muramasa in the stomach as hard as he could making Muramasa let go of his sword and drop to his knees in pain. His hands went to his stomach as he bent forward as Ichigo opened his eyes as Tensa decided that he could handle the rest.

"I am finally beginning to understand." Ichigo said as Muramasa looked up grimacing, his face confused and Ichigo continued, "The relationship between Zanpakutō and Shinigami, for the both of us to become truly strong, we have to acknowledge each other's existence and accept one another. I stormed into Soul Society with the intent to save a friend, but I was just a naive brat back then and believed that I could do everything on my own. Ever since my mum died, I didn't like involving people in my troubles and at first I continued to do that even after meeting Zangetsu. It doesn't matter if your human, Shinigami, Hollow or Zanpakutō, somebody who battles alone will never defeat someone who accepts help from their friends. You understand that don't you?"

Muramasa glared at him as he got back to his feet, picking up his broken sword and attempted to attack Ichigo again but Ichigo just side stepped him. Using the handle he smashed it into Muramasa's back forcing him face first into the ground. Muramasa got back up groggily but before either could attack, the world began shaking and pillar underneath them broke apart.

Ichigo jumped on top of the water, his Reiatsu holding him above it as he scanned for Muramasa as the world continued shaking and pieces of blue Reiatsu began descending from the heavens.

"_Ichigo we are out of time."_ Tensa Zangetsu communicated, _"The grudges of the entire hollow he has eaten are engulfing this place. It's trying to crush him even now."_

Some of the pillars began crumbling making Ichigo nod in agreement with Tensa's statement, he had to stop Muramasa now. Speaking of Muramasa, he had appeared on top of one of the more stable pillars panting heavily and Ichigo questioned,

"He said he didn't need you, so why are you still doing this?"

"Koga was strong enough that he could have ruled over Soul Society. I was proud of that." Muramasa confessed, "That is just how talented he was! I won't give up."

Muramasa would have continued if it wasn't for the sudden appearance of a hollow hole in the middle of his chest suddenly appearing.

Seeing this, Tensa Zangetsu spoke up urgently, _"Ichigo, if he becomes a hollow, that body of Reishi in the real world will fall apart and could destroy Karakura town."_

"He won't become a hollow" Ichigo said confidently, "Muramasa; everyone believes that Shinigami and their Zanpakutō have an unshakable bond. You know that better than anyone, so why did you make such a mockery of it?"

"I don't have to take this from you! This is just what my powers are!" Muramasa yelled trying hard to keep his feet; he only had the strength for one more attack.

"Zanpakutō can be used for things other than destroying enemy's right?" Ichigo questioned him as Muramasa's eyes widened and Ichigo continued, "You don't have to go along with everything your Shinigami says!"

They both noticed the large tidal wave that was enveloping the world, and the hollow mask began forming on Muramasa's face and he ripped it off. Using the last of his strength he charged towards Ichigo whom retaliated by charging towards him as well. As their blades clashed, Muramasa's broke blade shattered into pieces as Tensa Zangetsu broke through it before slicing through him and darkness claimed him.

**Outside of the Structure**

With the aid of the Taicho and Fukutaicho that had arrived as reinforcement along with their Zanpakutō, they were able to destroy the entire hollow army and Menos with little difficulty. They had slight difficulty closing the Garganta that had formed, it took all of their combined Reiatsu to close it shut and now they were waiting for Ichigo to defeat whatever was inside the structure.

They were all shocked as large cracks began forming on the structure and blue Reiatsu began leaking out before it exploded and it was so bright that everyone had to avert their eyes.

Muramasa eyes opened as he realised he was sinking into the depths of the lake, his body felt like it weighted a ton, unable to move he began to succumb the thought of death. However a voice pierced the darkness that had enveloped him and he heard his name being called.

"_How Ironic"_ He thought thinking of the man that had defeated him, _"Your voice was able to reach my soul."_

It was then that he felt someone grab his hand and pull him up.

It was moments later when he realised he was lying on the grass, on the island that Koga was sealed and Ichigo was kneeling next to him holding his hand signalling that it was him that pulled him out of the water.

"Is this what it means for our souls to understand each other?"

"Yeah" Ichigo told him.

"I led Koga astray" Muramasa said as he coughed up blood.

"We all make mistakes" Ichigo reassured him, "We just have to accept what happened and fix what you can."

Muramasa smiled; maybe in the next life he could fix his mistakes and with that he disappeared as Ichigo looked on sorrowfully not enjoying the fact that he had killed him.

Ichigo stood up and turned around as he noticed two presences had appeared behind him and he saw that it was Inoue and Rukia.

"Is everyone alright?" Ichigo asked them.

"Yeah we're fine" Rukia answered him as Inoue asked; "Did Muramasa-san disappear?"

"Yeah, he kept his pride as a Zanpakutō till the very end." Ichigo answered just as Byakuya shunpoed a few metres away from him and they looked at him curiously.

It was then that it began raining heavily but it wasn't ordinary as all of the current manifested Zanpakutō that had been released from Muramasa's control by either defeat or Mayuri disappeared back into their Shinigami inner worlds.

"Kurosaki Ichigo" Byakuya spoke up, his eyes closed and not facing Ichigo, "This will be my second time thanking you. I appreciate your help." With that he walked away heading back to Soul Society along with rest except for Ichigo and his human nakama.

"_Byakuya isn't so bad I guess."_ Ichigo thought as he looked into the sky at the rain continuing to fall.

"_I hate the rain." _Tensa Zangetsu spoke up randomly as Ichigo grinned, "Yeah me too."

Unaware to them, that he had been followed by a robotic bug that had been taking everything in.

**Las Noches**

Aizen smiled smugly as the screen paused on the Hollowfied Ichigo, he was pleased with Kurosaki Ichigo's performance, and he was now able to hold his Hollowfication for a decent length of time whilst in Bankai. Kurosaki Ichigo definitely learned quicker when he was in a life or death situation and now he just had to figure out how to get Ichigo to develop even further. He sat back on his chair as he pondered the situation, the boy had already began improving Bankai so there was nothing he could do there but something caught his attention.

Looking at Ichigo's mask he was surprised to see that on the left side of his mask, on the cheekbone area, there were now three red stripes instead of two. It was then he knew what to do, it seemed as though the level of his hollow powers could also increase and the best way for that to happen is to bring him to Hueco Mundo.

He had the best way to get that to happen, as he flicked the screen onto another recording, it was the one of Inoue healing Chad and Aizen murmured,

"You have an interesting ability woman."

He opened up the case that the Hōgyoku was hidden, he could wake it for a short time, but with the woman's power, if his theory was correct, she would be able to awaken it permanently. He would give Ulquiorra the task of bringing her and use Grimmjow to distract Kurosaki but as he prepared to inform them of their objective, his surveillances picked up something.

His eyes widened slightly at what he saw and a smile appeared on his face, while the Zanpakutō rebellion did what he hoped by helping Ichigo develop his hollow powers. He was disappointed that no Taicho or Fukutaicho had been killed but it didn't really matter, he would use this new development to keep them in disarray for a bit longer.

He walked over to the left wall of the room and put his hand on it. Focusing a small bit of Reiatsu a seal appeared and he activated him and all of the walls in Los Noches shone blue for a moment.

"That will keep us from being affected." Aizen murmured as he prepared to watch the show.

**Now before I get complaints on not showing the rest of Kenpachi's fight but I will show it later in a flashback. Along with many of the other fights, I plan to use them as flashbacks.**

**With Kenpachi's Zanpakutō's abilities, right now they aren't concrete; it will all depend on everyone's opinion on them, if there is a landslide on people not liking them. Then they will change and I have a good way for that to happen.**

**His current abilities will also be explained more in the flashback.**

**For all those Ishida fans, don't worry, he will be stronger than what he is in Canon along with Chad and also Inoue.**

**Next Chapter = Ichigo's new Bankai form**

**A situation in Soul Society**

**A change in Ichigo's Bankai**

**Isshin unleashes a horrible fate on Ichigo and Rukia**

***Moon Fang Heavenly Shield of Protection or the shorten version = Moon Fang Heavenly Shield.**

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**So the Thousand Year Blood War arc, that sounds promising and I expect that it would go for 8-9 years **

**There is one thing that I am disappointed in however and that was Kūgo Ginjo and while I enjoyed the fight between him and Ichigo along with the rest of the Fullbring arc it could have been much better.**

**Let's be honest, Ginjo's abilities were done half assed, we didn't even get the name of his Bankai. Ichigo is an interesting character because he is a Substitute Shinigami and Kubo had a lot of potential with Ginjo. **

**Not only with his abilities but his past as well, how did he meet the Fullbringers? Was there more to Soul Society betraying him other than the badge? What was his endgame? Was it just revenge or gaining power?**

**So many questions, I intend to answer all of them in this fic along with explanations on his abilities. Plus my Fullbring arc will be much different than the manga one. **

**Give me your thoughts on Ginjo's character.**


	7. Ichigo's New Bankai Form

**Disclaimer: I Don't Own Bleach**

**Chapter 7 – Ichigo's New Bankai Form**

Ichigo ducked under the scythe that aimed at his head but didn't strike back through fear and shunpoed away. His opponent glared at him and began twirling her scythe around as Ichigo hoisted his Shikai in front of him in a defensive position. Of all the fights he had been in so far, this by far was the toughest, it was not because of his opponent's strength and skill but who his opponent was, and never in his wildest nightmares did he ever think he would be in this predicament.

Here he was fighting one of his most important nakama, the one that changed his world, his friend; Rukia.

Although she wasn't Rukia right now, her eyes were pure black from the two hollow that had taken over her, and now she was almost completely a hollow. How and why the hell did this happen? It wasn't long ago when things were looking peaceful for a little while.

**Flashback**

_Ichigo lay on his bed relaxing after just finishing his homework that Tatsuki had brought to his house, he had finished all of the work he had been given from school and would have to hand it in within the next few days. It had been two days since he defeated Muramasa, two days since he had last been in his Shinigami form as he was enjoying a break from fighting to catch up on his life as a human. He had gotten the chance to catch up with Keigo, Mizuiro and Tatsuki also spent some time with his sisters especially Karin whom seem to be a lot more concerned about him lately._

"_It's understandable" Ichigo sighed to himself thinking of his little sister, she knew what he did as a Shinigami so it was only natural for her to worry._

_He was so lost in thoughts he almost didn't feel the Reiatsu that was approaching his house and his father's scream confirmed it._

"_RUKIA-CHAN YOU HAVE RETURNED!"_

_Ichigo scowled as his father's loud annoying voice pierced his ears and it was moments later when his door swung open and their stood Rukia in the blue dress that Ishida had made back in Soul Society._

"_Haven't you heard of knocking?" Ichigo said annoyed, "I could be doing something private."_

_Rukia smirked at him, "Like what? Reading porn, you pervert."_

_Ichigo blushed and spluttered, "What the hell? Don't put me in the same mould as Kon!"_

_Speaking of Kon, he was hiding in the wardrobe that was currently closed except for a small edge which was big enough for Kon to see through._

"_Just a little more" Kon thought as he saw Rukia enter the room as he waited until she was in perfect position, he had debated what part of Rukia he was going to attach himself to. Boobs or ass? Either thought would have brought a nosebleed if he had blood but he was made of cotton so he didn't have to worry about that. His grin widened as he saw that she was standing next to the wardrobe door teasing Ichigo about being a pervert and Ichigo denying it furiously. He quickly opened the door and jumped at Rukia whom had turned around quickly from the noise and was now facing the jumping Kon._

"_NEE-SAN!" Kon yelled as he closed in on attaching himself onto Rukia's breasts, he didn't understand why Rukia drove him wild so much, more than Orihime or that other big boob Shinigami. His dream came true as he grabbed onto a surprised Rukia's breasts and began snuggling into them as Ichigo looked on torn between amusement and annoyance. Kon was too focused on Rukia's breasts that he didn't see the murderous glint in her eye and before he knew it, he was flying through the air again but this time he crashed into a window. The force of the throw was too strong for the window and Kon broke through it and fell down two stories into the backyard._

_Kon didn't have to chance to complain about the throw as Yuzu had heard the noise and went to check it out and when she saw that it was her doll, she took him away to fix. _

"_What the hell did you do to my window you overacting midget!" Ichigo growled, that was going to cost him to repair and his dad wasn't going to believe that his third daughter did it._

"_He is your responsibility; you should control him so I won't need to in the future." Rukia scoffed at him crossing her arms across her chest trying to get rid of the disturbing feeling of Kon hugging them._

"_Doesn't mean that you have to break my window! Why didn't you just stomp on him like you usually do?"_

_She looked annoyed with him now, "Well he doesn't seem to learn that way does he, and maybe he might learn something by throwing him out of the window."_

"_Don't break my window next time, or there will be hell to pay."_

_She seemed interested now as she looked at him with an eyebrow raised, "And how do you plan on doing that?"_

_Ichigo shrugged, "The next time you go for a shower I will hide Kon in the bathroom."_

_Rukia just scoffed, "There is nowhere for a plushie to hide in there, I would spot him easily."_

"_I'm sure that Urahara has a cloaking device which he would lend me and I would give it to Kon."_

_Rukia's eyes narrowed, "You wouldn't dare."_

"_Don't break my window again." Ichigo smirked at her._

_After staring into Ichigo's smirk for a few moments, she didn't want to let him win especially like this until an idea popped into her head._

_Seeing an evil glint in her eye, Ichigo started to get a bad feeling all of a sudden._

"_More like you will use the cloak yourself and peep on me you strawberry pervert."_

_It was amusing to Rukia at how red his face got, it looked like he had a bad case of sunburn. _

"_Like hell I would waste my time peeping on a midget!" Ichigo growled at her trying to push away his embarrassment._

_Rukia's right eye twitched, they could battle with words for eternity best to end it now. With that thought, she punched him in the face and he fell of the bed with a loud crash._

_As he got up off the floor glaring at the smug Rukia, that is how she settled all of their arguments usually but before he could yell at her a loud stern voice shouted out._

"_ICHIGO!" Ichigo's eyes widened at the sound of his father's voice, it had been a long time since he heard his dad talk in a very serious voice and it worried him that it was being directed at him._

"_YOU HAVE TWO YOUNG SISTERS IN THE HOUSE, SO IF YOU ARE GOING TO MAKE PASSIONATE LOVE WITH RUKIA-CHAN THEN WE DONT WANT TO HEAR IT!"_

_The smug smile that Rukia had on her face quickly fell off as she blushed along with Ichigo at Isshin's yell and Ichigo roared back,_

"_WHAT THE HELL DAD! WE ARENT DOING ANYTHING LIKE THAT YOU PERVERTED BASTARD!"_

_Isshin didn't reply as he was grinning widely from the kitchen, he loved riling up his son especially about woman and sex. His grin fell when he looked at the poster of his deceased wife and sighed, Ichigo needed his mother to teach him about girls, and embarrassing things like that as she was the only one who could get Ichigo to truly open up. He looked at his right fist, clenching it he observed the Reiatsu and he was close to being fully recovered, the pain of losing Masaki had began the process of reawakening his Shinigami powers. It wasn't until the day Rukia had arrived at their house and he was attacked by that hollow, which his powers began returning and Urahara helped speed up the process by pouring Reiatsu into him every day for a week._

_The upcoming war was going to be huge and one of the toughest fights he would have to be in and he knew that if he used that technique again he wouldn't lose his powers. He would die. He would have to show Ichigo how to use it at some point, if it gets as bad as he thought then there would be no choice._

"_Masaki I will do everything in my power to protect our family"_

**End of Flashback**

Ichigo dodged another attack from the scythe; he was running out of time, he didn't know how to free Rukia from the fate of merging completely with those hollow. Using his mask probably wouldn't be a good idea; the hollow merged with Rukia may have a reaction to it and quicken the process no matter how much he had mastered it.

**Flashback**

_Rukia was currently out patrolling whilst Ichigo headed to the Visored base in order to continue his training and he couldn't help but mentally smirk when he showed them how much he had improved. It had been two days since Rukia had arrived back from Soul Society, the rest of the squad that had arrived with here earlier were currently still in Soul Society trying to recover from the Zanpakutō incident._

_He walked into the Visored base to see them all lounging around except for Kensei whom was currently smashing his fists into a punching bag. Ichigo wondered if he had stopped since he last left but put it out of his mind and prepared to get back to his training._

"_Look who is back, it's the dickhead. Ya finished resting you pansy?" Hiyori yelled at him leaning her back on a large boulder and Ichigo took the time to glance at the rest of the Visored._

_Hachi was meditating, Lisa was reading a magazine with a blush on her face, and Love was reading a manga. Rose was practising the guitar, Mashiro was rolling around doing something and Ichigo didn't want to know. Shinji was also just sitting around deep in thought and Ichigo looked at Hiyori blankly and replied,_

"_Yes I can see you guys are all training hard."_

"_What did you say?" Hiyori said angrily as she jumped up while some of the other Visored looked over at them._

"_What the hell are your goals anyway? Ever since I started training my hollow with you all, you have had a tight lid on what your goal is?"_

"_Why the hell should we tell you dickhead?"_

_Ichigo shrugged, "I guess my training is over then, I am not having anything more to do with any of you until I know your objective."_

_He now had all of the Visored's attention but Hiyori remained firm, "Were not telling you anything! Besides you need us to teach you how to keep that mask on longer."_

_Ichigo scoffed and ripped on his mask whilst Shinji, Kensei, Love, Rose and Hachi all looked surprise by the increase of Reiatsu he now had with his mask. Hiyori in her anger didn't notice this as she just taunted him, "So what can you hold it for 7 or maybe 8 seconds now"_

_Ichigo just responded by holding out his right hand with his palm pointing directly at Hiyori who had a curious look on her face and Ichigo grinned under his mask as he gathered Reiatsu into his palm._

"_**Cero!"**__ Ichigo said as he fired the large black and red Reiatsu at Hiyori making her eyes widen comically before just dodging the attack by summoning her mask on. Looking down at the explosion, Hiyori scowled and muttered to herself,_

"_**When the hell did he learn to fire a Cero?"**_

"_**You don't need to know"**__ A voice said behind her followed by a foot connecting into her right side that sent her crashing hard into the ground. Ichigo floated slowly back onto the floor awaiting Hiyori to pick herself up and it wasn't long until she shot out of rubble with a furious scream. Withdrawing her sword she charged towards Ichigo but he didn't use his sword, instead he punched the air sending a Bala at her. It hit her head on before she realised what had happened causing her to stumble but before she could regain her bearings a hand grabbed her tightly on the shoulder and threw her into a large boulder._

_Ichigo just looked bored as he again waited for Hiyori to show herself but was surprised to see her on her knees panting hard. His eyes widened however when she glared at him and he saw that the left side of her mask had been completely destroyed and he couldn't help but taunt her back._

"_**We've only been fighting for like 10 seconds and your mask is falling apart already."**_

"_**SHUT UP! BUTCHER HIM KUBIKIRIOROCHI!"**__ Hiyori's Zanpakutō turned into a large cleaver with a serrated saw-like blade. Her sword was swung at Ichigo aiming at his head but he brought his sealed Zanpakutō out and blocked it._

_Hiyori growled and kept swinging fatal strikes at Ichigo but were blocked every time and not long after she began this assault the rest of her mask broke off. Seeing this Ichigo fired another Bala, this time into her stomach and because they were so close together when he fired it, she was sent flying back and landed on the ground roughly._

_Ichigo took off his mask unimpressed by Hiyori's level of power; she was just all talk and no real strength to back it up. Perhaps if she had released when her mask was fresh she might have been able to force him to release as well but even with hollow powers, someone like Renji who obtained Bankai was stronger._

"_Looks like the kid has gotten good with his hollow powers" Kensei said reluctantly impressed by the boy, it wasn't long ago when he considered his training to be a waste of time._

_Ichigo looked over at Shinji while Hachi went over to Hiyori and began healing her. Shinji stood up and walked over to Ichigo and told him, _

"_Very well Ichigo, I will tell you how we came to be and what our objective is."_

_He then told Ichigo all about their past, that they were former Taicho and Fukutaicho and that they were betrayed by Aizen and forced into Hollowfication. Then Soul Society sent them to death whilst Urahara was to have his Reiatsu sealed away and be banished to the real world. Yoruichi had rescued them and for the next 100 years they had been living in the real world and during that time Urahara had healed them. They told him they were fascinated by the real world and began to love it and that their goal was simple, to kill Aizen._

"_So for the last roughly 100 years, you have been preparing to kill Aizen." Ichigo said seeking confirmation which Shinji responded with a nod._

"_I see" Ichigo murmured, and then asked, "So you guys believe you can beat Aizen?"_

_Shinji smirked at him and told him matter of factly, "We will be the ones to kill Aizen. Or should I say that I will kill him."_

"_Really?" Ichigo asked before smirking at him, "Ok then, If you are so sure then can you demonstrate something for me?"_

"_What's that?" Shinji asked him curiously and was confused to why Ichigo suddenly activated his Bankai._

"_If you are so sure than I want you to block one attack."_

_Shinji did one of his large grins and pulled out his Zanpakutō as Ichigo began focusing on the level of attack he wanted to do. He thought back to when he first fought briefly and he meant briefly against Aizen and focused on summoning the same power he channelled into his blade as he had back then. It was currently about ¾ of his strength._

_He shot towards Shinji and swung at his chest and Shinji was able to block it with his Zanpakutō but he had to quickly put on his mask. Ichigo jumped back with a mocking grin on his face much to Shinji and the other Visored's confusion before he asked,_

"_Why did you use your mask and Zanpakutō?"_

_They all just gave him incredulous looks and Shinji retorted, "If I hadn't, I probably would have been cut in half you dumbass."_

_Ichigo just chuckled further increasing their looks and told him mockingly, "You think you have the power to defeat Aizen when he blocked that same attack, same speed and same amount of power with a mere finger."_

_All of the Visored's including the recovered Hiyori looked shocked at that bit of information and Ichigo continued, "You guys are underestimating Aizen immensely, that strike just them was about ¾ of my strength in Bankai and I hit one of his Arrancar with a much stronger attack than that. Do you want to know how much damage it did?" They didn't answer so Ichigo finished, "About a 30cm scratch that was barely bleeding, right now we are going to have extreme difficulty with his Arrancar let alone Aizen."_

_The Visored were silent as they contemplated what Ichigo had told them, and as they did Ichigo decided to interrupt with another question._

"_When was the last time any of you truly pushed yourselves to the limit?"_

_None of them answered as Ichigo shook his head and told them thanks for the help that they gave him but he would focus on learning some Kido now. With that he left as none of the Visored acknowledges his words, all of them contemplating what Ichigo had told them, but they all did come to a startling conclusion. Ever since they defeated their hollows and learnt how to hold their mask for several minutes, none of them had been pushed to their limits._

_It took a while for someone to speak but it was Shinji who broke the silence and seemed to be talking to himself but they all listened, "Kurosaki Ichigo, human, learning the name of his Shikai only minutes after releasing his own Shinigami powers. Learnt Bankai in three days, and learned how to hold his mask on for longer periods of time before any of us except Mashiro of course. However while she can keep it on for 15 hours, that is not the same when in battle, where she can only hold it for 3 minutes like the rest of us. Yet Ichigo held it just then for 3 minutes, and it didn't look like it was going to break anytime soon even after using a Cero along with two Bala's. Hell none of us even knew we could do Bala and why is that, it is just like he said; we haven't been pushed to our limits nor fought against opponents trying to kill us. While Ichigo is someone who improves quickly, how much of that is because he was in life or death situations while we have been sitting back for 100 years maintaining our Shinigami skills. We haven't improved and only have a short time frame of a power boost with our hollow powers."_

_Everything that Shinji just said seemed to cause all of the others to come to the same conclusion._

"_It's time to stop playing, we still have two months before Aizen moves out and I intend to use it and improve my mask time by at least triple." Shinji told them confidently, determination not seen for over a 100 years burning in his eyes._

_The rest couldn't help but agree, for the first time in 100 years, the Visored's were going to push themselves beyond their limits._

**End of Flashback**

Ichigo jumped over the hollow Rukia and fired a wordless Getsuga into the ground covering the area in smoke before Shunpoing away in order to put some distance between them. He looked over at Renji to see him in his Bankai trying to destroy the core of the creature that the two hollow unleashed to turn Seireitei into chaos. The smoke that was created by his Getsuga disappeared but it revealed that Rukia had vanished much to his concern.

"Look out behind you Ichigo!" Renji yelled out.

Ichigo glanced behind him to see Rukia had suddenly appeared behind him ready to behead him seeing Rukia close up made him remember the last day together before she headed back to Soul Society and this incident.

**Flashback**

_It was still quite early in the day as Ichigo just returned to his home from the Visored's hideout hoping that they took his words to heart and tried to improve themselves. He entered the house and much to his surprise he didn't receive a sudden attack from his dad but was even further astonished when he found his dad sitting at the kitchen table with a hard look on his face._

"_Hey dad what -"_

"_Sit down Ichigo" Isshin cut him off and Ichigo obliged and decided not to speak as his dad looked very intimidating right now._

_After 5 minutes of silence Ichigo attempted to say something but before he could his dad told him sternly,_

"_No talking, we will discuss this when Rukia arrives."_

_The lack of chan at the end of Rukia's name started ringing serious alarm bells in his head and he began dreading the moment that Rukia arrived._

_It wasn't long before that dreaded moment arrived as Rukia returned from her patrol and when ordered to sit down by a grave Isshin, she immediately complied. _

"_Now that you are both here. We can begin." Isshin told them as Rukia looked on nervously while Ichigo had light sweat running down his face. _

"_Yuzu!" Isshin barked and Yuzu ran into the room and stood in front of him military style._

"_Is it ready?" He asked her and she nodded._

"_Very good." Isshin approved and then yelled for Karin whom much to Ichigo's surprised came into the room the same manner as Yuzu._

"_Has it been booked?"_

_Karin nodded in the affirmative and Isshin smiled pleased with the result before turning back to Ichigo and Rukia._

"_Now it is time for me to explain what you have to do Ichigo."_

_Ichigo was torn between hesitancy and curiosity about what his father was planning._

"_Today Ichigo, you will be taking Rukia on a date."_

_Both Ichigo's and Rukia's eyes widened before Ichigo quickly got over the shock and yelled at his father, "What the hell old man? Here you are acting all serious and you say something like this!"_

_Karin could barely hide her amusement at what Ichigo was being put through._

"_Quiet Ichigo!" Isshin bellowed silencing his son and so Ichigo settled for glaring at him making sure to avoid looking at Rukia whom was looking confused and embarrassed._

"_Now if you would allow me to explain?" He asked them receiving no answer and continued, "You see a few days ago when we were watching Chappy along with some other shows."_

_Ichigo remembered that, it was when he took Karin out to play some soccer while Rukia came to a realisation._

"_In one of the shows the main character asked a girl out on a date but the episode ended before she gave her answer much to Yuzu's and I's disappointment. It was then Rukia-chan asked what a date was which made me come to the realisation that she had never experience the thrill of a date especially a first date."_

_Ichigo glanced curiously at Rukia who avoided eye contact with him seemingly embarrassed and Ichigo wondered if this was why his father looked horrified when he and Karin had returned._

"_So I have arranged for Ichigo as he is experienced in dating to take you on a date Rukia-chan so you can experience the glory of it." Isshin told her whilst Yuzu gasped and Karin snorted._

"_Onii-chan has been on dates?"_

"_Ichi-nii has never been on a date."_

"_That's absurd Karin" Isshin told her, "A son of mine would have gone on plenty of dates. Isn't that right Ichigo?"_

_When Ichigo avoided looking him in the eye, Isshin knew the answer, his eyes widened in horror and shouted whilst running over to the poster of his late wife._

"_NOOO! MASAKI OUR ICHIGO HASNT EXPERIENCE THE PLEASURE OF DATING! I HAVE FAILED AS A FATHER!"_

_Ichigo looked thoroughly embarrassed, making sure not to glance at Rukia while his dad continued to cry about his failures._

"_Dad, don't you have to give the details to Onii-chan?" Yuzu asked snapping Isshin out of his despair as he stood up proudly and announced,_

"_You are right Yuzu; it is time to give Ichigo and Rukia-chan what we have organized for them."_

"_Dammit dad, I am not doing this!"_

"_I don't want to bother any of you with something like this!" Rukia protested embarrassed but Isshin just shook his head and told them,_

"_Sorry but you both no longer have a say in the matter."_

_Ichigo scowled, "You can't make us do this!"_

_Isshin smirked which Rukia noticed that it resembled Ichigo's._

"_I believe I can, if Rukia-chan goes on this date then I will give her the complete collection of Chappy's adventures on DVD."_

_Ichigo looked horrified, and he glanced at Rukia's and he mentally groaned at the look on her eyes, her pupils were now stars and he knew that his dad had Rukia hooked._

_Still as long as he didn't agree to this, then he was fine, he didn't think that there was anything that his father could offer him._

"_Now for you Ichigo" Isshin started as Ichigo's eyes narrowed, "If you don't take Rukia-chan out on this date and make it enjoyable, then I will take all of your baby pictures and show them to your class. And yes that means __**all**__ of them."_

_Ichigo's eyes widened as he stared his father in sheer terror and Isshin grinned smugly and reminded him, "You know I will do it"_

_Rukia looked at him in amusement; the thought of gaining all of those Chappy episodes was worth going on a date with Ichigo. However she had to make sure that Ichigo couldn't back out and decided to add the final nail to the coffin,_

"_That would be a day that nobody would __**forget**__." _

_Ichigo scowled, that dam midget had basically just told him that she wouldn't erase the memories of their classmates. Dam dad, he offers Rukia something while he gets blackmailed, life just wasn't fair._

"_Fine you win."_

_**Later that night**_

_Ichigo collapsed onto his bed tired from the date with Rukia and his father's antics and drifted off to sleep._

_He wouldn't get that sleep however as he suddenly awoke in his inner world much to his confusion and ask Zangetsu whom was in his regular spot on the pole._

"_What's up old man?"_

"_To inform you about your Bankai."__ With that, Zangetsu's cloak seemed to wrap around him entirely as he shrunk and there stood Tensa Zangetsu._

_Ichigo just looked on curiously, "What about Bankai?"_

_Tensa smiled at him resulting in the widening of Ichigo's eyes as this was the first time that Tensa had done that._

"_You have proven yourself Ichigo, like your hollow, I was also surprised by your desire to increase your skills since returning from Soul Society. You have successfully completed the tasks that I set out for you. You no longer feel the strain of your old Bankai, you have learnt how to condense your Reiatsu throughout your body and you have achieved an acceptable level with your Hollowfication. The next time you use your Bankai, I will add my power to it but be warned Ichigo, you will have to train with it as it will once again put a strain on your body. However it won't be as severe as it was when you first began using Bankai, it shouldn't take you long to get used to it."_

"_I see" Ichigo acknowledged, "Thanks Tensa."_

_It was moments later that Ichigo woke up and glanced at his clock which read 12:05 making him scowl as he understood that he only went to bed 10 minutes ago. With the fact that he would be able to fight alongside Tensa Zangetsu from now on made him wide awake. So he began doing some remaining homework that he had, it was the last thing he had to do for school however something happened 15 minutes into his homework._

_It was like a sudden wave of air just brushed past him but he shook his head thinking that he had imagined it and finished off his homework. It was then his door was suddenly burst open and Kon ran into the room, holding a piece of paper, crying his eyes out._

"_Nee-san returned to Soul Society"_

_He forced the paper into Ichigo's hands and Ichigo tried to read the note but it didn't make any sense and he placed it on his desk before looking at Kon in confusion._

"_Who the hell is Nee-san, better yet what the hell are you?"_

"_What? Nee-san is Nee-san and what the hell do you mean what I am? I'm Kon you dumbass."_

_Ichigo just looked at him blankly and sighed grabbing him much to Kon's annoyance and threw him into the closet and decided to deal with it later before climbing into bed and falling asleep._

_**Inner World**_

_Zangetsu was pleased, very pleased with Ichigo's progress so far, he was becoming the warrior he knew he could become since there rocky start. His relationship with Tensa Zangetsu was progressing nicely and Ichigo now unlocked the true version of his Bankai. Not only that, his relationship with Ichigo was growing stronger and Ichigo was close to unlocking the true version of his Shikai._

_However his pleased thoughts ended as he sensed a sudden wind of Reiatsu hit Ichigo and suddenly the world around him began shaking. Much to his horror, the equal largest building began sinking, the building that held his bond and memories of Rukia and moments later, it had sunk to the bottom of the world. With that building now at the bottom, everything that had connected Ichigo with Rukia began sinking and to his horror the connection he felt with Ichigo vanished._

_No matter how loud he called, Ichigo could no longer hear him and it was suddenly that he understood. Rukia was the one that introduced him to Shinigami and hollow, it was for Rukia that Ichigo developed his Shinigami powers and without her in his memories, all of those things that connected to her were buried deep in his soul._

_The world was beginning to darken and if he didn't do something quickly, then he would be put in the same position he was in before Ichigo met Rukia. Basically, all the power that Ichigo had attained would become dormant once again._

_He dived into the water where the building connecting to Rukia sunk and broke into a window as he tried to latch onto some of Ichigo's memories of her. If he could get these memories to the surface, they should flash into Ichigo's dreams and since he had such a strong connection with Rukia, he hoped it would be enough. If it didn't, well Zangetsu didn't want to imagine. Putting everything he had into it, he was able to grab a few large boxes and threw them up onto the surface and once there the box burst open._

_**Ichigo's Dream**_

_Ichigo was currently reliving the worst moment in his life, walking hand in hand with his mother walking on the path near the Karasu River. It was then he saw a woman standing at the edge of the river making it look like she was going to fall in, seeing this Ichigo ran to help her much to Masaki's horror. It then went black before light came back to Ichigo's eyes and to his despair; his mother was lying on top of him, with a large gash in her back, dead._

_It was his fault, he killed the most important person in his life, the most important in Karin, Yuzu's and his dad's life._

_It was then the scene suddenly changed and his was in a Shinigami uniform staring down a hollow that was holding Karin and a familiar figure stood in front of it._

"_I was trying to help it back then, six years ago, but when I noticed, it was gone and my mom was dead."_

_The imaged changed again as sudden flashes began forming and he began to hear whispers._

"_Even if you save that kid here, nothing will matter if you don't become a Shinigami! Saving him because he's right in front of you! Don't be naïve. A Shinigami has to treat all spirits equally! You cannot just conveniently save those you can see, those you can reach. Don't save that kid with such half-heartedness. If you want to save him now... accept that you must save all spirits. To go anywhere for them... to even give your life to save them, make that kind of commitment!__"_

"_...If I ask, will you answer? ...It's your problem. A deep, deep problem. I have no right to know. I don't have a method of stepping into the depths of your heart without getting it dirty. So I'll wait. When you want to talk, when you think its okay to talk... Talk to me. Until that time, I'll wait."_

"_Do you want... to save your family? There is only one way... you must become a Shinigami! "_

"_Give me your sword Shinigami"_

"_I'm not 'Shinigami.' I'm Kuchiki Rukia."_

"_I'm Kurosaki Ichigo"_

_Ichigo's eyes shot open as everything came back to him, jumping out of his bed, he grabbed the note and deciphered the message by figuring out the drawing at the bottom was a racoon. The message stated that she had to return to Soul Society to run a few errands and would be back in two days._

"_Kon!" Ichigo yelled throwing open the closest and grabbed the surprised plush and told him, "Rukia is in trouble."_

**End of Flashback**

With the scythe ready to behead him, Ichigo prepared to go Bankai to dodge it but a voice called out,

"Bakudō #61: Rikujōkōrō"

Six rods of light suddenly slammed into Rukia stopping her from beheading Ichigo and fell to the ground struggling to break out furiously. Ichigo looked to see it was Byakuya standing a few metres away looking at Rukia and Ichigo could see the despair in Byakuya's eyes and he knew that it was killing him to see Rukia like this.

Rukia seemed to freeze for a second as she took notice of Byakuya but it didn't last long before the hollow took back over and continued to try and break free. Byakuya could sense the Reiatsu pouring out of her was almost all hollow and he knew that there was only one way to free Rukia and that was to kill her. He would free her and send her to Hisana and as he made that decision he felt the remaining part of his heart that remained after Hisana's death shatter, he was about to break his promise to Hisana. There was only one thing he had to do after this and that would be to kill himself for destroying his pride and shaming himself.

He pulled out his sword which made Ichigo realise what he was about to do especially when he heard Renji mutter, "Her Reiatsu is almost fully become a hollow's."

"Don't Byakuya" Ichigo pleaded, "Rukia is still in there, it doesn't matter what happens, we are still connected! Isn't that right Rukia!"

Rukia didn't answers as she began breaking the Bakudo as Ichigo looked on in despair until he noticed Kon frozen in that see through stone and he could hear him pleading, "Save Nee-san, please"

"_Do you want to save your family?"_ Rukia's voce echoed through his ears as his thoughts went back to that fateful night when she gave him her powers and he knew what he had to do. He looked over to see that she had almost broken out and he sealed his Zanpakutō into its Katana form and told Zangetsu,

"_Suppress all of my hollow Reiatsu leaking out of me."_

"Very well Ichigo" Zangetsu told him.

He walked up to Byakuya who looked at him curiously, his blade still raised and Ichigo informed him, "She sacrificed her powers to save my family and I cannot and will not ever give up! This time I will save her, either this works which means I free her or we both die together."

Byakuya looked at him, the boy continued to amaze him at how far he would go for his friends, for Rukia to the point where he would be willing to give up his life.

"Do as you wish" With that he Shunpoed away as Rukia broke out of the Bakudo with a large burst of dark purple Reiatsu and glared at Ichigo.

"Let's kill him! Let's kill the Shinigami!"

Ichigo put his left arm on his right forearm and surrounded himself with pure Shinigami Reiatsu and began channelling it into his sword and said,

"Here we go Rukia, this time I will give you my power!"

Both charged towards each other and Rukia swung her scythe as Ichigo stabbed his sword, his sword pierced through the scythe and penetrated Rukia's chest in through her heart as Ichigo yelled,

"TIME TO WAKE UP RUKIA!"

With that he poured in his Shinigami Reiatsu into Rukia's body as she yelled out before the two hollow were expelled from her body as her Shinigami form once again took control. Ichigo then forced the small parasite like hollow that had merged with the other two out and purified it restoring all of Rukia's memories and everyone else's.

Rukia's eyes opened as she felt an arm around her shoulder and her face was pressed into a shoulder. Shrugging it off, she pulled back to see Ichigo looking down at her with relief and joy in his eyes and then she remembered what happened. She looked around frantically for the two twins which Ichigo noticed and pointed her in the direction they laid.

Rukia rushed over to them and knelt down before them taking their hands in hers as they looked up at her with remorseful and sorrowful expressions on their faces.

"We've been punished haven't we? For not listening to Rukia." The female said but her brother protested, "Rukia, don't hate my sister"

Rukia looked sadly at the both of them as she remembered the Shinigami that was possessed by a hollow attacked them and while trying to protect Rukia, the twins were killed.

"When I woke up, I didn't see them anymore... And I also forgot about them" Rukia said miserably as she couldn't believe that she forgot about them.

It was then Urahara spoke up as he had arrived moments ago after Byakuya and Renji destroyed the monster, "That was because this hollow erased your memory. Also, these two have the power to manipulate space. Probably as a last effort to save your, these two transferred the hollow to their own bodies. Without noticing it, they ended up in Hueco Mundo, desperate, but the hollow was still conscious. And they returned because of the immense urge to see you."

Rukia looked shock as the girl said, "Remember now? Sorry for lying to you. The truth is we died back then."

"You are not gone! Death isn't the end. Aren't you back? I was so happy."

"Because we wanted to see you." The girl told her, "I only have you."

Rukia shook her head and explained, "You're not alone. The most important person to you has always been at your side."

The both looked shocked as they stared at each other; they had been so focused on not being with Rukia that they didn't acknowledge each other, until now they considered themselves as one.

"I remembered your names... Homura and Shizuku. If you put them together it means strong shine."

They both looked in awe as they finally had names, before tears began falling down their eyes at the joy of it. Tears also began to gather in Rukia's eyes as she could sense their Reiatsu was almost gone.

"Shizuku" Homura murmured as she held out his hand and Shizuku responded by placing his hand in hers as he whispered, "Homura-nee-san."

"Goodbye Rukia" Homura said as her eyes closed along with Shizuku, their hands fell out of Rukia's whom began yelling in despair,

"Homura! Shizuku! Don't go! Hey! Hey! Answer me! Answer me!"

Rain began falling heavily as Rukia wailed into it as the others could only look on in helplessness at the situation. Ichigo whom was standing a few metres away looked up into the sky and with a soft voice that he rarely used he spoke,

"The heavens weep."

Urahara was the only one who heard him and looked at him curiously, seeing this Ichigo answered, "This is why I hate the rain, the heavens cry as someone has passed on or fallen into despair. That is always what I feel in the rain, ever since my mom died and here right now a good friend is in despair and what happens? It rains heavily."

"An interesting outlook" Urahara acknowledged.

**The next morning**

Rukia stood on the cliff where her deceased friends were buried looking at a drawing that the two siblings had drawn for her when she felt Ichigo approaching her from behind.

"Ichigo, you going back?"

"Yep" He told her simply.

"You saved me again." Rukia acknowledged.

"Well you saved me first." Ichigo retorted as Rukia looked surprised, he had saved her more times than she had saved him.

"You know, if death is not really the end for us, then that encounter maybe was a beginning. I don't know really, but a connection once linked, it will never disappear, so even if we forget everything, that connection will return again. Like it did for us, and like it will for you and those siblings."

Rukia smiled, "Yeah you're right."

Ichigo smirked, "See ya; I'm going first, Shinigami."

"I'm not a Shinigami, I am Kuchiki Rukia" She told him proudly as the wind took the picture and Rukia watched it fly away, she would never forget them.

**Rukia's Inner world**

Sode no Shirayuki was glad that Rukia had returned to normal, it definitely wasn't fun when her soul began merging with those hollow and was once again in debt to Kurosaki Ichigo for saving her master. Rukia had been much more open and talked to her a lot more since the Zanpakutō rebellion and the bond between them was going making her smile. Rukia was close to being able to learn the third dance and maybe in a few years she might be close to materialising her. It was then she discovered a change in the snowy world, her world consisted of snowy plains with a large mountain.

There were caves in the mountain that represented her bonds with others along with memories and her knowledge. The deeper the cave, the more knowledge on a subject was stored, or the stronger the connection she had with an individual. There were six very deep caves, bonds with those close to her in her life and they were Ichigo, Renji, Byakuya, Ukitake, Kaien and Miyako.

However one of the caves had changed slightly, the cave that represented Ichigo had grown deeper which astounded Sode no Shirayuki because she thought that the cave couldn't get any deeper unless they became intimate. However when she walked through the caves, she could summon memories or knowledge straight to her but at the end of the cave where it originally ended had extended for a few metres. However it was blocked by a large block of Ice and Sode no Shirayuki couldn't enter but when she peeked through the ice she was amazed at what she saw.

"_Well, now isn't this interesting." _She murmured.

**Urahara's shop – 1 day after Fade to Black**

Ichigo stood in the middle of Urahara's training ground with his Shikai released eager to test out the upgrade to his Bankai whilst Urahara watched with interest. Zangetsu had explained to Ichigo about what he did in order for Ichigo to remember Rukia making Ichigo internally grateful much to Zangetsu's satisfaction.

Ichigo entered the position for him to activate his Bankai and unleashed a large amount of Reiatsu and shouted,

"BANKAI!"

Ichigo exploded in blue Reiatsu forcing Urahara's to cover his eyes from all of the dust and rubble that was sent flying into the air. He was astounded by the amount of Reiatsu Ichigo unleashed, and wondered if Ichigo truly had a limit of Reiatsu or would it just keep on growing? His vision cleared along with the dust and rubble dispersing, revealing Ichigo in his new Bankai form.

His clothes hadn't changed, but there were some added features, he now had black gloves on both hands that ended at the half way point between his wrist and elbow. His sandals were now replaced with black boots that stopped at the half way between his knees and ankles but both appeared to be heavy. There were more noticeable changes with his sword.

The chain had grown in length, it was now at least 2 feet long and was connected to the base of his right glove forming a wide loop but the chain was detachable from the glove. While retaining its manji-like shape, the tsuba had become more curved and jagged whilst the blade itself had grown in length to roughly the same length of his Shikai and it was curved near the tip.

Ichigo could feel a slight increase to his Reiatsu but he had to admit, it wasn't as much as he was expecting and the gloves and boots felt weird. They looked heavy but to Ichigo it felt like he wasn't wearing any gloves or boots, they were light as a feather and Ichigo wondered what their purpose was. He had to admit that his sword was badass though much to Tensa Zangetsu's amusement.

"_Perhaps I should just explain them to you Ichigo."_

"_That would be nice"_ Ichigo admitted.

"_While the gloves and boots may seem light, they are very hard to destroy and their purpose is similar to that of the Getsuga Tensho."_

"_Hmm, how do you mean?"_

"_How do you activate Shunpo Ichigo?"_

"_Pouring Reiatsu into the souls of your feet to speed up your steps and also cover more distance with each step. The better control, and the better your base speed, the faster you go and the less steps taken."_ Ichigo summed up his basic understanding.

Tensa sighed, _"That is the most basic explanation but it is more complicated than that but I can't be bothered going into the specifics. Now tell me how the Getsuga works."_

Ichigo scowled in annoyance, _"Zangetsu amplifies the Reiatsu that I pour into the Reiatsu and releases the condense Reiatsu at the tip of the blade."_

Tensa nodded, _"Correct, I do something similar with your gloves and boots, the Reiatsu that you pour into I amplify. This means, I increase the speed of your Shunpo when you put Reiatsu into your boots but they can also be used for melee situations. I increase the power of your punches and kicks, you have used it instinctively a few times if you recall."_

Ichigo nodded; there had been times when his punches and kicks seemed much stronger than usual.

"_With these, you will be able to do some damage to the Arrancar despite their Hierro without fear of breaking any bones. Enough explanations Ichigo, how bout we test it, do you remember the exercise I had you do a few days ago?"_

"Yeah" Ichigo told him as he remembered what Tensa asked him to do; he had to Shunpo as fast as he could in a straight line for 500 metres. He also had to kick a heavy metal ball about the size of a soccer ball as hard as he could and also had to punch a large boulder as hard as he could. He of course had to do this in Bankai and the results were interesting to say the least.

It took a step every 50m, so in all it took 10 flash steps to get there. In Shikai he could only go about 20m every step and in his sealed it was only 5m every step. He was only able to kick the ball about 50m and his punch only shattered half of the boulder that was 6m high and 6m wide. Urahara did explain that he had reinforced it with Reiatsu making it much tougher than it would usually be.

Now here he was in his new Bankai and judging by the Reiatsu that was pressing into his bones, he would only be able to handle it for roughly 5 minutes. He was standing in the same spot he previously did the exercise and channelled Reiatsu into his boots and shunpoed over to the destination point. When he arrived he was amazed by how much faster he was, he was able to travel 100m with a single step meaning that he only stepped 5 times. In battle that was going to be a big advantage as he wasn't going to distance himself from his opponent by 100m very often.

Next he kicked the ball again as hard as he could and watched in awe as it travelled about 100m, the Reiatsu surrounding the ball was equivalent to the strength of the Hierro of a Gillian Arrancar. He finally finished by punching the boulder and shattered it completely and the best part was, just like Tensa said, he felt no pain from the attack.

"Splendid Kurosaki-san, your Bankai has improved drastically." Urahara clapped happily, and then asked interested, "How about you try a Getsuga?"

Ichigo smirked; he was interested to see if the Getsuga's amplified power had also increased. He raised his Zanpakutō into the air as it was surrounded by blue Reiatsu and he slashed it downwards and roared, "GETSUGA TENSHO!"

The result was a large gash through the ground that was bigger than any other that he had made; it was even more powerful than the attack that he hit Ulquiorra with. He felt that it had been his strongest Getsuga until now and Ichigo also gathered that his Getsuga Tentate's power would have also increased.

He deactivated his Bankai back into Shikai but he felt something different about it and Urahara's eyes widened as he noticed to. Ichigo held his Shikai up, feeling stronger than he ever did whilst in Shikai, the blade itself hadn't changed but it was the hilt. While his Shikai still had no guard, the grip had changed, it formed into a similar grip that his Bankai had and it was black in colour. While the pommel was silver and had a small black chain replacing the cloth that was about the length that his original Bankai had.

Ichigo looked at Urahara in confusion that didn't have an answer before Ichigo decided to ask the source.

"_Zangetsu, why did your Shikai form change slightly and also increase in power?"_

"_Come to your inner world and I will explain."_

Ichigo entered the Jinzen position and moments later found himself in his inner world with Zangetsu on his pole waiting for him.

"So can you explain then?"

"_Very well"_ Zangetsu said before asking,_ "Tell me Ichigo how long does it take for a Shinigami to learn the name of their Zanpakutō?"_

Ichigo just looked blankly at him and Zangetsu explained, _"You see Ichigo, you only had your Shinigami power not even an hour before you learnt my name. Yet most Shinigami don't learn for months to years, to decades and in some cases to centuries. Can you understand why that is Ichigo?"_

Ichigo shook his head.

"_First of all it is because you're human, that means you adapt quickly as humans have short life spans and most are lucky to reach 80 years old. However Shinigami age slowly, living up to centuries and millennia, so they don't adapt as quickly. However even for a human, it should have taken you longer to learn my name but because of what you were trying to achieve by storming into Soul Society, I didn't have a choice. You definitely would have died if you didn't have my help, so I forced myself to give you my power and name which gave you an incomplete Shikai."_

"So you mean I beat Ikkaku, Renji and Kenpachi with an incomplete Shikai?" Ichigo asked seeking to clarify while feeling smug.

Zangetsu seemed to sense this as he answered sternly,_ "Don't get cocky Ichigo, Ikkaku underestimated you severely and it cost him, Renji like Byakuya was conflicted and seeing your resolve he wanted you to prove that you could save her deep down. With Kenpachi, how many times did he let you cut him without even trying to block or dodge? Don't forget that he also told you that he hadn't had a good fight in a long time and was basically rusty."_

Ichigo scowled at Zangetsu, they were all valid points which made him grumpy as he realised that he saved Rukia with a lot of luck on his side.

"_When attempting to learn how to achieve Shikai a Shinigami must be able to communicate and harmonize with their Zanpakutō effectively, which requires being able to speak to the spirit within its world. You couldn't my world until Urahara taught you how to use Jinzen and we both hadn't down that in Soul Society, therefore you couldn't use my full power. With you being in danger so much, to keep you alive I had to keep forcibly give you power and we never had the chance to bond and allow both our powers to grow naturally. Ever since you returned from Soul Society and beat your hollow, both you and I have communicated a lot, and have learnt more about each other making our bond stronger."_

Ichigo began to understand but he asked curiously, "So why did it just change now? I haven't learnt anything new about you in the last few days."

Zangetsu smirked, _"I'm glad you asked that, it is because you have unlocked Tensa Zangetsu's power."_

Confusion filled his mind again, "How does that affect your Shikai form?"

"_Ichigo, to learn Bankai a Shinigami must have learnt all of the powers that their Shikai contain; however you once again had to use a shortcut by using the __Tenshintai which forcibly materialized me into the real world. If you materialized me naturally, then the test I gave you would have been much different as I would have become Tensa Zangetsu and you would have to cut me down. However because I was forced out, I fought you as I am now which gave you an incomplete Bankai however you will be able to materialize me now without any trouble."_

Ichigo nodded beginning to understand but had another question, "How come I can now use my true Bankai if I still haven't materialized Tensa and strike him down?"

"_Technically you have, even though he was out thanks to Muramasa's power, the fact that you defeated him meant that you could now handle the power of your true Bankai. If you could beat him at that point, then you would beat him even if you did materialize him so it was a moot point."_

"Yeah but how come I didn't use my true Bankai against Muramasa if that is the case?"

"_Tensa didn't want to you to use a new form that you had no experience with in a life or death battle, if he felt that you needed it then he would have risked it. But he knew that you were strong enough to beat him with your incomplete Bankai."_

"I understand." Ichigo told him, "Thanks Zangetsu."

**Urahara's shop**

Ichigo exited the Jinzen and stood up glancing at his Shikai whilst Urahara just looked on with interest. He began channelling Reiatsu into the blade as he pictured Zangetsu in his mind and thought,

"Appear in the real world Zangetsu."

His Shikai flashed blue for a moment before Zangetsu appeared a few metres away as Urahara's eyes had a sudden understanding light up in them.

"So this is your true Shikai form then?"

"You knew?" Ichigo asked and Urahara nodded, "I knew that Zangetsu would have to forcibly give you his power as there wasn't enough time for you to train properly. Plus the fact that your skill with a blade was terrible, I had to use our training time to teach you how to fight. Zangetsu giving you his power would have been useless if you didn't have the skill to use it."

Ichigo glanced at Zangetsu, _"It makes sense Ichigo"_

Ichigo nodded and Zangetsu dematerialized before Ichigo went with Tessai to begin training in the art of Kido whilst Urahara began thinking of his greatest student and key to the war.

He never imagined that Ichigo would progress this much, at this rate perhaps they could defeat Aizen without Ichigo having to use the Saigo no Getsuga Tensho but they would have to kill him before he evolves. If Aizen began his evolution using the Hōgyoku, then the Saigo no Getsuga Tensho was their only option.

**Two days later **

It was currently midday in Karakura town; Ichigo was currently relaxing in Karakura Park along with Ishida, Chad, Inoue, Tatsuki, Keigo, Mizuiro and Karin. Ichigo had set 2 days a week to spend time with his younger sisters, as he felt that his training was taking away time that would be spent with his sisters. While Ichigo never really opened up to anyone, he was always close to his sisters and by that he meant he spent a lot of time with them and today he promised he would spend it with Karin.

It was really just a fluke that they were all hanging out today, Tatsuki and Inoue had been together, Keigo and Mizuiro were doing god knows what and Ishida and Chad trained together early in the morning. Funnily enough by midday, their paths had crossed and here they were.

Ichigo had gotten news from Soul Society that they would send in reinforcements tonight as they finally got everything sorted and Ichigo prayed that there would be no attacks today. His training had been going well, like Tensa said, it didn't take him long to get used to his new Bankai and he took great joy in the fact that he was pushing Urahara much harder in their spars.

Kido was interesting, he learnt the Hadō #1: Sho which generates a small force that thrusts the target back, but Ichigo found that with his rubbish control of Reiatsu, that attack was much stronger. Instead of sending them back a few metres, his would send them flying much to his satisfaction. Tessai wasn't pleases however, as he explained that its purpose isn't supposed to do that but Ichigo told him that it suited him and that he didn't have real need for Hadō spells since he had Getsuga and Cero.

So Tessai began instructing him in Bakudo spells which were very challenging for him as it required more finesse and control than Hadō as it was more focused on power. Tessai decided that the low levels of Bakudo would be far too difficult for Ichigo so he taught Ichigo some of the higher levels. Ichigo declined the chance to learn Bakudō's #39: Enkōsen and #81: Dankū as they shields and he already had his Getsuga Tentate for that but that didn't mean that he shouldn't learn them. When the war was over, he would learn as much Kido as he could but for now he just needed the essentials and so he asked to learn a Bakudo that restricted his opponents.

In the last two days he had learnt #61: Rikujōkōrō and #63: Sajō Sabaku and while he was proficient with them, he was nowhere near close to being a master with them. However he figured that if they could give him a second or two, then he could make them work.

Ichigo watched as his sister talked with Tatsuki who was showing her some karate moves making him smirk, Karin was a fighter like him and he fully expected her to come to him when she was older to become a Shinigami.

However his eyes widened when he felt a rip in the air and he looked in horror not noticing that everyone in the group had taken notice of it. Thank god he brought Kon along as he pulled the protesting plushie out of his bag and entered the mod soul into his body releasing his Shinigami form.

Ishida stood next to him preparing for battle while Tatsuki, Keigo and Mizuiro looked confused at the two Ichigo's.

"Kon!" Ichigo barked gaining Kon's immediate attention which forced all of his possible ideas he could do in Ichigo's body.

"Take Karin home immediately."

Kon nodded, he knew better than to disobey Ichigo when he was this serious while Karin looked worried as she took notice of the figures that had come out of the Garganta. There stood Yammy and an armless Grimmjow along with another two.

One of them had rather youthful features, with short black hair that was unevenly cut, lavender eyes, and a childish face. Just above his left eyebrow was a row of three pink stars, the remains of his Hollow mask which was a top row of teeth rested on the left side of his head. His attire consisted of long sleeves that fell past his hands, hiding them.

The other had a thin and somewhat child-like body. He had light blond hair, parted to one side, with the tips fanning out from his face. The remains of his Hollow mask consisted of a three-point tiara on the top of his head. He only had two teeth visible when smiling, freckles and bright purple eyes. He wore the Arrancar jacket with a hole in the middle of his chest, revealing his Hollow hole and the tip of a mark on his chest. The outfit also had large arm cuffs on the sleeves.

"Ichigo... What?" Tatsuki asked confused unable to form a complete sentence and Ichigo glanced at her surprised that she could see him and from the expressions on Keigo and Mizuiro's faces, meant they could as well.

"I'll explain later, go with Kon and Karin now!" Ichigo told them fiercely and seeing the look in his eyes, they spun around and followed Kon who was dragging Karin away.

"Any chance Soul Society will be sending any reinforcements soon?" Chad asked but Ichigo shook his head, "No not til tonight."

The Arrancar stepped out of the Garganta well all of them except the kid whom didn't seem interested in what was happening down below. Ichigo mentally groaned when he noticed that both Yammy and Grimmjow were glaring at him but he shrugged it off. He destroyed Yammy last time with his original Bankai and fought on par with Grimmjow so as long as he could stop them from releasing, he shouldn't have any trouble.

"Kurosaki, you have fought two of them correct?" Ishida asked him and Ichigo nodded as Ishida came up with a plan.

"Are you able to stall them for a little bit?"

Ichigo smirked at him, "No problem"

"Good" Ishida approved, "Sado-kun and I will handle the other one and we will kill him as quickly as possible and Inoue-san you heal any injuries that we receive. Also keep an eye out on the one that is currently more interested in the real world than fighting."

It was true, the kid Arrancar was currently looking at the grass, trees and nature all around him with interest. Ichigo unsheathed his sword as he Shunpoed up near the Arrancar and Ishida and Chad joined him, Yoruichi had taught Chad how to air walk.

Ichigo smirked at Grimmjow and received a maniac grin in return, excited to continue where he left off whilst Yammy glared at Ichigo itching for revenge.

"Yo Grimmjow, I get while you're here" Ichigo told him but looked at Yammy blankly, "But I don't get why you are? Don't you remember the last beating I gave you?"

Yammy withdrew his sword and told Grimmjow angrily, "Stay out of this Grimmjow, this piece of shit is mine!"

"Stop the rain Zangetsu" Ichigo chanted, summoning his Shikai and awaited for Yammy's attack but sweat dropped when he realised that Yammy and Grimmjow were arguing over who got to fight him.

Seeing how this was his chance, he pointed Zangetsu out in front of him, the tip facing the two bickering Arrancar as blue Reiatsu surrounded Ichigo's body and his sword turned blue. The increase in Reiatsu caught their attention as they stopped arguing as Ichigo prepared to activate his Bankai. The chain at the end of the pommel, grew longer as it wrapped around Ichigo's arm up to his elbow and he yelled,

"BANKAI!"

Yammy and Grimmjow's eyes widened when they saw the change in Ichigo's Bankai and Grimmjow growled, "Why is your Bankai different Kurosaki?"

"There is no need to tell you" Ichigo stated and asked curiously, "What happened to your arm?"

"I cut it off; I don't need it to beat you, even with the change in your Bankai."

Seeing as they were talking, Yammy used this opportunity to Sonido behind Ichigo and swung his sword at the back of his head but before he knew it, he hit air and there was a sword sticking out of his hollow hole.

Grimmjow scowled darkly, he could barely follow Kurosaki's movements, it was clear his Bankai was much stronger now but then that scowl turned into a smirk, he might get a good fight now.

"You really are pathetic" Ichigo taunted Yammy, he had followed Yammy's movements no problem and dodged the slash by Shunpoing behind him but instead of striking a fatal blow he decided to humiliate him. So he simply stabbed his sword through his hollow hole to show him that he could have just died without realising.

Using Sonido he stepped away from Ichigo glaring hatefully at him but Ichigo ignored him and shunpoed above Grimmjow whom couldn't react in time as Ichigo kicked him in the face sending him crashing into the ground.

Ichigo smirked when he felt an increase in Grimmjow's Reiatsu and he shot back up in the sky with his sword out and attacked Ichigo. Ichigo didn't even block any of his strikes, instead he simply dodge them all and made sure to do it at the last second to further enrage Grimmjow until he felt an attack approach from behind.

Yammy was pissed. He had never been so insulted in his life, that cocky shit was toying with him and he could see he was toying with Grimmjow but it gave him an idea. He sonidoed behind Ichigo but kept a lot of distance so he wouldn't notice and began forming a Cero, it didn't matter if he killed Grimmjow in the process and fired it.

Knowing that a Cero was approaching, and that Grimmjow was so focused on him that he didn't see it coming even if it was in his vision of sight, Ichigo deflected the slash and the force put Grimmjow off balance. Ichigo shunpoed away as Grimmjow's eyes widened as the Cero descended upon him and he quickly fired a weak Cero at it which blocked most of the damage but he was still sent flying to the ground.

Yammy growled as he realised he missed his target but his eyes widened when he heard a voice behind him, "You're done."

Yammy spun around swinging his sword at Ichigo who bent back dodging the attack and gathered Reiatsu into his blade and swung upwards releasing the attack. Yammy's blood burst out of the wound that went from his left hip up to his right shoulder and Ichigo then got in close and punched him hard in the wound. Yammy roared in pain as he bent forward and Ichigo prepared to end him by attempting to cut off his head but a glint of red at the corner of his way interrupted and he was force to Shunpo away. While the Cero missed Ichigo, it did hit Yammy which was Grimmjow's secondary target and Yammy fell to the ground groaning in pain.

Grimmjow appeared behind Ichigo on his left and attempted to kick him in the head, but Ichigo calmly raised his left hand and blocked it. Grimmjow was shocked that a Shinigami could block his attack without his Zanpakutō while Ichigo mentally grinned, the kick connected with his wrist and lower forearm, which was covered with his glove, if he had managed to kick his elbow area, then it would have been broken. Ichigo then grabbed his foot and threw him towards the ground but Grimmjow was able to stop the fall and charged Ichigo again. However none of his slashes could connect, with only one arm, Grimmjow was predictable and Ichigo assumed because of the loss of his arm it explained the reason why his number was burnt off.

He blocked Grimmjow's next strike and they engaged in a blade lock as Grimmjow tried to overpower Ichigo but Ichigo just chuckled, wounding Grimmjow's pride.

"What is so funny?" Grimmjow growled at him.

Ichigo stopped chuckling and settled on smirking, "Didn't I tell last time, that getting into a blade lock against me isn't a good idea?"

Grimmjow's eyes widened as he remembered what happened last time but before he could react, Ichigo punched him in the gut with his left hand. Grimmjow grimaced in pain which disconnected the blade lock before Ichigo followed up with a punch to the face, making sure to avoid the hollow mask and sent him flying.

Again the attack wasn't strong enough to send him to the ground but as Grimmjow regained his bearings Ichigo shunpoed a few metres behind him, Tensa in the air above his head and swung downwards bellowed, "GETSUGA TENSHO!"

The energy wave crashed into Grimmjow, it wasn't long until the wave overwhelmed him and exploded sending him crashing into the ground near Yammy. Ichigo descended slowly onto the ground as Yammy begun to get up painfully whilst Grimmjow stood and the right side of his torso was covered in blood.

As Ichigo prepared to finish the two of them off, Inoue suddenly yelled out, "Behind you Kurosaki-kun!"

Ichigo glanced behind him to see the child Arrancar aiming to stab him through the back with his hand and Ichigo didn't have a chance to dodge but was saved as a wave of red Reiatsu came between them.

The sudden Reiatsu forced the small Arrancar back as Ichigo looked to where the blast had come from and was surprised but pleased to see Urahara.

"You should be more careful Kurosaki-san" Urahara told him cheerfully and Ichigo scowled at him, "I've been taking on two Espada while you took your sweet time getting here, so give me a break."

Just as he finished, he battered away the Bala that had just been fired by Yammy who was now on his feet with a shocked looked. Ichigo looked annoyed but before he could attack a voice shouted out, "Some no mai, Tsukishiro"

A large circle of ice formed at Yammy's feet and from his feet up began being covered in ice but thanks to a Bala he blasted it off and sonidoed away. However when he reappeared again another voice yelled out, "Sit upon the frozen heavens, Hyōrinmaru!"

A large ice dragon appeared on his left and he attempted to block it with his left fist but upon contact, his arm was covered in thick Ice and before he could attempt to break it, he was attacked again.

"Growl, Haineko!"

A cloud of ash surrounded his right arm and seconds later, deep cuts were formed by the ash which caused him to drop his sword and Yammy fell to his knees in pain as Hitsugaya yelled, "Finish it Abarai!"

"Bankai! Hihiō Zabimaru!" Renji called out as he descended from the sky, a fur cowl around his neck. The cowl was the fur of an ape and thus, the ape's skull could be seen over Renji's left shoulder while the rest of the fur extended to cover his right arm. His Bankai was in the form of a large skeleton of a snake and he launched it forwards as red Reiatsu began forming in its mouth as it closed in on Yammy.

"Hikotsu Taihō!"

The large dense blast of concentrated spiritual energy from Zabimaru's mouth charged towards Yammy who could only look in horror as he realised he was about to die by a bunch of pathetic Shinigami and he couldn't do anything about it.

However the blast was suddenly blocked by a large yellow light causing most of the Shinigami to scowl as they realised Yammy was surrounded by Negación along with Grimmjow and the child Arrancar.

**Earlier – Ishida and Chad's fight**

"Are you an Espada?" Chad asked him as his right arm formed into its Brazo Derecha de Gigante form and the Arrancar answered, "Yup, I am Espada #6: Antenor Luppi."

"The 6th? Wasn't Grimmjow the 6th Espada?" Ishida asked as Kurosaki had informed the group about the Espada he had fought against.

Luppi smirked, "He was until his arm was destroyed, and after that he was no longer fit to be in the Espada so I replaced him. So I take it that it's going to be 2 on 1 then?"

"Yeah" Ishida said as he summoned his Ginrei Kojaku and prepared to fire.

Luppi looked over at the fight between Ichigo, Yammy and Grimmjow and sighed, "Fighting two humans is boring, so I will end this quickly as that Shinigami looks interesting."

Chad's eyes narrowed at being dismissed so easily along with Ishida, he would show him that it was the Quincy that he should be more interested than the Shinigami.

Luppi smiled evilly at them as he pulled his Zanpakutō which was in the form of a short sword and said, "Strangle Trepadora"

His body exploded in pink Reiatsu and once finished, his body was covered in mist as Ishida and Chad waited for it to clear when a large white tentacle shot out towards them. Ishida dodged it with Hirenkyaku but Chad braced himself and blocked the tentacle with his right arm and skidded back a few metres but held strong.

"Sorry bit did I say that it would be 2 on 1? What I meant to is that it would be 2 on 8!"

The smoke cleared and revealed Luppi with a bone cowl on his head along with an octagonal design fixated on his back where his eight tentacles were connected. Chad's eyes widened as the other 7 tentacles shot towards him and he had no way to dodge as Luppi laughed, "This is the end for yo-"

He was cut off however by as an arrow pierced his chest from behind and his tentacles froze in mid air as he turned his head and saw Ishida standing behind him with a pitying look on his face.

"I expected more from the 6th Espada, you knew from the start that you were fighting two opponents. You had 8 tentacles to attack with and I am sure they could take different forms and instead of spreading your attacks and attacking each of us with 4 each, you use all 8 to attack one of us. Leaving yourself wide opened making it an easy picking for me and here I was thinking that I would get the chance to test out my new bow. Pitiful."

Luppi growled, "I am not done yet"

He forced his tentacles to charge towards Ishida but suddenly Chad appeared in front of Ishida who notice a light at his feet and resolved to ask him about that later. Chad's arm was glowing blue and he unleashed a large blast of Reiatsu at the tentacles and succeeded in stopping them. Luppi growled in annoyance but suddenly Ishida appeared in front of him and before he knew it, an arrow pierced his forehead killing him instantly.

He watched Luppi's body vanish, meaning he had been purified and Ishida muttered, "Thank Urahara-san for the glove otherwise you wouldn't exist anymore."

Ishida nodded at Chad who responded with a thumbs up as a voice rang out, "Dam it looks like we missed a chance for a fight."

They both turned to see a disappointed Ikkaku and an exasperated Yumichika.

It was then they noticed Negación descend from the sky covering the remaining Arrancar.

Ichigo watched them go, Yammy wasn't a threat and as long as Grimmjow only had one arm he could be dealt with his eyes widened however when he felt a presence appear behind him. He spun around seeing Ulquiorra standing next to a Garganta with his hands in his pockets looking at Ichigo with slight interest.

This would be a good test to see how strong his Bankai truly was and asked Ulquiorra, "Yo, ready for a rematch?"

"No" Ulquiorra told him emotionlessly, "You should be more concerned about what is going to happen to your family."

Ichigo's eyes widened, "What are you talking about?"

"Do I have to simplify it any further? I said that you should be worried about what is about to happen to your family."

Ichigo didn't stick around to ask any more questions and shot towards his house as fast as his Bankai would allow and after a few minutes of nonstop Shunpo, he arrived. He was glad to see that there was nothing wrong and wondered if Ulquiorra lied when he heard a voice behind him that made him stiffen,

"Hello again, Ryoka boy."

Ichigo spun around to see Aizen standing above him wearing a black cloak.

**Like it Review it. Don't like it then don't read it.**

**I will show the 'date' that Ichigo and Rukia had in a later chapter.**

**Of course, the Fade to Black movie happened exactly the same way except Ichigo NEVER went Bankai.**

**Also, on March 27 is the last airing episode on TV Tokyo's 6:00 p.m. Tuesday timeslot. Which means the anime is ending or going on a break or its moving to a different timeslot or channel. My guess is the new timeslot or new channel as the episode on March 27 is ****Changing History, Unchanging Heart. If I am right that is near the end of the Ichigo vs. Ginjo fight but they still have some other stuff to wrap up.**

**Just looking at my story stats; 55 reviews. 18,150 hits. 143 Favourites. 123 Alerts. Impressive.**

**Now I have a question that I want answered, as I have said after the Fake Karakura arc it is going to be AU. So what do most want to see? I have a possible two paths that I want to go down, both would work well with the story but I would like to see what most want.**

**Ichigo's relationship with Soul Society as full trusting allies like in canon.**

**Or**

**A distrusting relationship and only teaming up when they absolutely need to. (Rukia and Renji not included as they are Ichigo's nakama.)**

**Poll up on profile**

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**So it looks like the Quincies have declared war. I can't wait for more of this arc, they say the end is near; I can't wait to see Seireitei fall.**


	8. Storming into Hueco Mundo

**Disclaimer: I Don't Own Bleach**

**Chapter 8 – Storming into Hueco Mundo**

Ichigo looked at the man above him with wide eyes, why was he here and how did he not sense his Reiatsu?

"It's the cloak I am wearing" Aizen told him and seeing Ichigo's confused look, he explained, "Urahara Kisuke created one over 100 years ago, I merely mimicked the design."

Ichigo smirked at him, "Copying Urahara-san are you?"

Aizen just smiled, "Why not? He is the only one that can challenge me in intellect but there is a large difference in our strength."

Gripping his Zanpakutō tighter, Ichigo asked, "So what is the big leader doing here?"

"Gathering information."

"Information?" Ichigo asked curiously.

"Didn't I say that I found you interesting?" Aizen reminded him.

Ichigo's eyes narrowed, "So you came here just to get information on me?"

"Don't be so arrogant Ichigo-kun" Aizen told him, "I'll admit; you are part of the reason, but your other nakama have drawn my curiosity. To throw Seireitei in a state of chaos, Ishida-kun's skills as a Quincy at his age is impressive and the other two humans have intriguing abilities. Not to mention I am curious about the town."

"What is your interest in Karakura town?"

"You don't know?" Aizen questioned seemingly surprised, "I am going destroy this town along with all of its inhabitants."

"What?" Ichigo asked horrified.

"It is a sacrifice that is required to complete my goal." Aizen explained, "Destroying this town along with its inhabitants, I will be able to create the Ōken."

"The Ōken?"

"With it I will enter the Royal Realm and overthrow the Spirit King and become the ruler of all worlds."

Ichigo stared at him with wide eyes, disbelief mixed with disgust and outraged displayed on his face, "That's it? You are going to sacrifice thousands of lives just so you can create some stupid key!"

Aizen shrugged, "It is a necessary sacrifice in order to create a new order."

"Necessary?" Ichigo said furiously, "Lives are not something that you can just throw away! No matter how insignificant they are to you!"

"This coming from someone allied to Soul Society." Aizen said as Ichigo frowned in confusion, which made a smug smile on Aizen's face to appear. "They destroyed the Quincy because it was necessary and they created the mod souls but then decided to destroy them because it was unethical of them to reanimate human corpses to be used as weapons against Hollows. So tell me Kurosaki Ichigo, what makes them so different for me? Didn't the Mod Souls have thoughts and feelings? And the Quincy? From my understanding, Urahara Kisuke created a special glove for your friend Ishida Uryu, if he could do it, surely someone back then could have as well. Do you honestly believe that Soul Society cares about a Substitute Shinigami and a few other humans that are capable of utilizing Reiatsu?"

Aizen's words rang tauntingly in his ears but Ichigo shrugged them off, he didn't care about Soul Society's past, he had the power to protect those close to him. Since the people he cared about lived in Karakura, then he had to protect it, any vengeance that falls on Soul Society from past mistakes wasn't his concern.

"I don't care" Ichigo told him wiping the smug look of Aizen's face, "I couldn't care less about Soul Society's past, you want to destroy a town that contains my family and friends." Ichigo's eyes shone blue, "I'll crush you!"

Ichigo suddenly shunpoed directly in front of Aizen and attempted to stab him through the chest but met nothing but air and spun around as a voice spoke up behind him.

"Impressive."

Aizen stood in the air with his hands in his pockets and a calm smile on his face, "I at least have to dodge now."

Ichigo's eyes narrowed as he held out his blade to the side, the blade pointing away from him and the blade began glowing with blue Reiatsu.

"Getsuga Tensho!" Ichigo growled as he swung his sword towards Aizen unleashing the blue wave of Reiatsu.

"Bakudo #81: Dankū" Aizen muttered.

A translucent barrier in the form of a large rectangular wall appeared in front Aizen as the Getsuga slammed into it. Aizen raised an eyebrow as he saw that his shield began forming cracks in it from the relentless assault of Ichigo's technique.

"Getsuga Tensho!"

Aizen's eyes widened as Ichigo suddenly appeared a few metres behind him firing another Getsuga. He held out his left hand as the attack collided with it, he had to admit the attack was more powerful than he thought but he was a superior being for a reason. He flung the attack away just as the other Getsuga broke through his barrier but he pointed his right hand, palm facing the incoming blast and said,

"Hadō #33: Sōkatsui!"

The blue ball of Reiatsu that shot out of Aizen's hand and smashed into the Getsuga before they exploded on impact as Ichigo looked shocked by how easily Aizen deflected his attacks.

"Not bad Ichigo-kun" Aizen said pleasantly, "Now see if you can beat this"

He held out his hand towards Ichigo this time and Ichigo just dodged the blue ball that shot towards him, and then he was forced to use Shunpo to dodge all of the following blasts. As he fired the continuous blasts he chanted,

"Seeping crest of turbidity! Arrogant vessel of lunacy! Boil forth and deny! Grow numb and flicker! Disrupt sleep! Crawling queen of iron! Eternally self-destructing doll of mud! Unite! Repulse! Fill with soil and know your own powerlessness! Hadō #90: Kurohitsugi"

As he was just finished, one of the Sōkatsui hit Ichigo in the left leg which made him flinch in pain as the result left a big burn mark on his leg. With Ichigo forced to stop for a moment, Aizen then launched his next Hadō.

Ichigo's eyes widened as a familiar black coffin that Aizen had used on Komamura back in Soul Society surrounded him and he felt some slashes on his back, shoulder, legs and chest as it began to close. Once it closed, he could feel the attacks had begun to cut deeper into him and in a desperate move, he summoned his mask and fired a full powered Getsuga Tensho to break apart the coffin.

Aizen smiled when the coffin burst apart due to a large wave of black and red Reiatsu and judging by the feel of it, he knew that the boy had activated his Hollow powers. However, it looks like his attack was much more powerful than what Ichigo had thought considering the state he was in. His left sleeve had been torn apart, his arm covered in blood but Aizen was surprised his glove only had a small cut at the edge of it. The left side of his mask was broken, blood dripping from the top of his eyebrow, clouding his vision.

"**Dammit"** Ichigo growled, his amber eyes narrowing in fury; that attack had done some real damage to him and now he couldn't use his left arm unless he healed it. However, his mask was hanging on by a thread, if he healed his arm, he would lose his mask and he already tried fighting him in just Bankai which proved ineffective. His only option was to hit him with an attack at full power, one that wasn't just hollow or Shinigami, or one amplifying the other like his Getsuga. No he needed to combine both Shinigami and hollow into one attack and he had just the idea to do so. However if it missed then it was all over, he needed Aizen to be hit full on but he was faster, so how to hit him?

"_His arrogance"_ Tensa Zangetsu spoke up, _"Use that to your advantage, bait him."_

Ichigo agreed before he swung his sword in front of him, the tip of the blade pointing at Aizen whom looked on with curiosity.

"**Hey Aizen, you said that you were curious about my power and my nakama's correct?"** Aizen said nothing but Ichigo believed that he saw a flash of interest on Aizen's face but he could have imagined it.

"**If you're so confident that you have the power to rule over everyone, then you should have no trouble overpowering this attack."**

Aizen smiled and held out his arms in a welcoming gesture and said, "Fine Kurosaki Ichigo, let's see this power of yours, I will not move from this spot."

Ichigo smirked before he began pouring all of his hollow Reiatsu through his sword, right down to the tip of the blade and began to form a black ball of condensed Reiatsu. With the ball gathered, he felt his mask break away; thankfully he was able to hold the ball before adding his remaining Reiatsu to the ball increasing its size mixing the blue and the black Reiatsu together.

Ichigo began panting heavily; sweat falling heavily from his face before he brought his sword upwards over his head, the ball in the sky. As he brought the blade down he shouted, "Getsuga Cero!"

The ball exploded and the blast of black and blue Reiatsu headed straight for Aizen, the blast itself was a combination of his Getsuga and Cero, if anything, it looked like a giant arrow. Ishida would be so jealous.

Aizen's eyes widened slightly in surprise and quickly raised his left arm in front of his face as the blast connected resulting in a giant explosion.

Ichigo couldn't see the result of his attack due to all the smoke blocking his vision from the explosion, his Bankai had faded away and he could no longer hold his Shikai either. He was forced back into his sealed katana state, panting heavily, the wounds were far more excruciating than before and he was struggling to stay upright.

"That was an interesting attack, Ichigo-kun" A voice said as the smoke cleared and it revealed Aizen still with a smug smile on his face. He looked at his left arm and saw that his whole arm was burnt; the sleeve was gone along with part of the cloak that was covering it. He mentally sighed at that, no doubt that Hitsugaya would pick up his Reiatsu and he really couldn't be bothered dealing with him at the moment.

"My, it's been a long time since I have felt this much pain." Aizen commented inspecting his injury before looking at Ichigo, "I believe the last time was against another Shinigami Substitute."

"Another Shinigami Substitute?" Ichigo asked confusion lacing his voice.

Aizen chuckled, "Surely you didn't think that you were the first to ever appear. There is so much you don't know about Soul Society's past but unfortunately I don't have time to explain it all to you."

He could sense that the other Shinigami were on their way as a Garganta opened up behind and with a parting wave he told Ichigo;

"The next time we meet, it will be the end of your town."

Aizen disappeared into the Garganta before it closed leaving Ichigo alone, until he heard a shout, "KUROSAKI!"

He turned slightly to see all of the other Shinigami that had arrived approaching along with Ishida and Chad, Hitsugaya was leading the pack with a dangerous look on his face.

"Where is he Kurosaki?" Hitsugaya asked furiously.

"Back to Hueco Mundo" Ichigo replied but he didn't hear Hitsugaya's next question as he finally succumbed to his injuries and blacked out.

**Back at Karakura Park**

Inoue sighed as she saw Ichigo leave and not soon after the others followed, she too was about to join them when a voice spoke up from behind her.

"Worrying about them is the least of your concerns."

Inoue spun around to see Ulquiorra standing before her, his hands in his pockets and a Garganta behind him. She placed her hands onto her hairpins as she prepared to attack or defend but Ulquiorra cut her off,

"It's pointless, I have studied your techniques, and you don't have it in you to kill me."

Inoue tried to rebuff but he interrupted her with his usual monotone voice, "Didn't I tell you that it is pointless, you don't have that desire to fight. All you are good for is to heal wounds and to hide behind your friends while they fight for you."

Inoue paled as his words rung in her head and Ulquiorra could already see her breaking just like Aizen had told him.

**Flashback**

"_What is it Aizen-sama?" Ulquiorra asked in a bowing position._

"_Good you're here Ulquiorra" Aizen said sitting on his throne looking down on his faithful servant, "I have another important assignment for you."_

"_As you wish Aizen-sama"_

_Aizen smiled before activating the large television behind and Ulquiorra saw that if was the orange haired female, one of Kurosaki's friends._

"_I want you to bring her to me."_

_Ulquiorra rose and prepared to leave however Aizen stopped him, "Do not force her with force though, force with words and threats."_

_Ulquiorra raised an eyebrow and Aizen explained, "I checked out her past thoroughly, when she was young, she was abused by her parents and her older brother took her away. This resulted in her hating fighting because of the pain it brought on her and she relied heavily on her older brother to protect her that she tends to hide behind those that fight. Take this information and I am sure you will be able to succeed with no trouble."_

**End Flashback**

"You can't do anything without needing someone to protect you." Ulquiorra told her as she began to tremble.

He then raised a hand and an image appeared in mid air and it was showing the fight between Ichigo and Aizen but turned it off before it showed Aizen leaving.

"Aizen-sama is waiting for my signal, if you don't come with me, and then Aizen-sama will kill him along with all of the others."

Inoue didn't say anything, her trembling increased as she tried to think of a way out that didn't have her kidnapped or her friends hurt.

"It's useless" Ulquiorra told her interrupting her thoughts once again, "Don't ask questions. Don't say a word. You have no rights and no options. In your hands you hold the rope keeping the guillotine safely suspended above the neck of your friend. I hope you understand woman. We are not negotiating. I'm giving you an order. I have been ordered to bring you back unharmed as your powers will be useful to Aizen-sama."

He noticed any fight in her eyes leave after his words eventually broke her just like Aizen-sama had intended and now for the final piece.

"I see that you understand" He told her as he approached her slowly after disabling the screen and took out a silver bracelet, "While wearing this, a special type of Reiryoku barrier will surround you. Only we Arrancar will be aware of your presence. At the same time you will be able to pass through physical objects as you desire. Wear it and don't take it off. "

"Okay" Inoue said defeated.

"I will give you 12 hours." Ulquiorra told her as he walked away after giving her the bracelet towards an open Garganta, "I will allow you to say goodbye to one person in that timeframe."

It was then Ulquiorra looked over his shoulder towards her and she felt a cold chill travel down her spine as she felt the killer intent in his eyes. "However if the person discovers what you are doing, then you will have disobeyed my orders."

With that, Ulquiorra vanished as the Garganta closed and Inoue could only look down in defeat as she fully realised just how helpless she truly was. As his words poisoned her mind, hearing the doubts that she had in her head out loud just crushed her. Protecting her friends especially Tatsuki against that Hollow all those months ago, she thought that she was finally changing, that she was finally starting to become strong. Taking this belief, she went with the others to Soul Society but her shortcomings once again when she was unable to do anything and it made her further ashamed of herself when she saw the injuries that her friends received. Her fears overtook her when they returned and declined to train alongside the others as she was afraid to fight, and decided to only use her powers to heal them. This way she wouldn't have to fight and could still be useful but now she had no choice but to go with Ulquiorra.

**Kurosaki House**

Ichigo was currently lying on his bed under the covers, bandages wrapped around his body, when they put him back in his body; his body received the injuries that his Shinigami form had. Thankfully Rukia had healed the most vital injuries to the point where they were no longer life threatening before putting him back in his body.

Of course, Rukia hadn't told them that he had been beaten up by a Shinigami of course; she told them that he had been beaten by some thugs because of his hair colour. Now currently she sat on his chair that was next to his desk, while Isshin was standing against Ichigo's wardrobe with his arms folded across his chest and Karin was sitting on the floor staring at Ichigo with barely concealed worry. Yuzu didn't bother to hide her worry as tears fell from her eyes at the sight of her big brother but Isshin just scoffed;

"First I discover that my son has had a lack of dates and then he gets his ass kicked by a bunch of hoodlums." All of a sudden tears fell from his eyes and he wailed, "I am a failure of a father!"

Karin grew annoyed at her father's wailing and punched him in the gut sending him down on his knees clutching his stomach in pain much to Karin's satisfaction.

'_Dammit'_ Isshin thought to himself, _'I'm going to have to teach her how to utilize her Reiatsu, she is really going to hurt someone someday'_

Rukia rolled her eyes at Isshin's display, but a hint of a smile appeared on her face however she looked away so no one would see it. She had to admit that Isshin definitely had an effective way to cheer up his daughters albeit in a very strange way. Yuzu would let out a tiny smile when her father acted like an idiot and it also let Karin take out some of her frustration at the helplessness of the situation.

However her focus soon went back on Ichigo and his fights with the Espada and then Aizen according to the Reiatsu that she sent. Hitsugaya's rage seemed to confirm it. Thankfully they had arrived in time but she had to admit she was amazed at how well they fought considering how little experience they had. Ichigo had a change to his Shikai and his Bankai much to her interest and how easily he took apart two Espada however concerns formed within her. Looking at the state Ichigo was in, it worried her that his fight with Aizen that he received these injuries when two Espada were unable to touch him. As they were approaching, she sensed that Ichigo had activated his hollow powers and followed up with a very powerful attack which failed.

Still she wondered what Aizen was doing here in the first place and what their goal was as they had left immediately and none of the Arrancar but one used their Resurrección.

**Hueco Mundo**

Aizen walked out of his room with a clean change of clothes and headed to the chamber where the Hōgyoku lay but he was cut off by Gin whom was currently leaning against a wall. He face held that same mocking smile that it usually had along with his eyes in their usual slit state.

"Did ya have fun Aizen-Taicho?"

"Do I look so happy?" He questioned Gin without looking at him as they both walked towards the Hōgyoku's chamber.

"Am I wrong?" Gin asked him, "I saw the fight between the kid and the Espada. I can see why you are so interested in him, he tore them apart easily. But most of all, you are excited that he was able to hurt ya albeit slightly. At least, that's how ya look."

"Having fun, I wonder?" Aizen mused to himself, "I suppose I do feel something akin to that emotion." He then turned to look at Gin, both of them stopping, "Do you find that odd, Gin?"

"Of course not, I feel the exact same way."

Aizen nodded before asking, "Did anyone else but you, Tōsen and Ulquiorra see the footage of my encounter with the boy?"

"No sir" Gin replied cheerfully, "I made sure that none could see it especially Szayel."

"Excellent" Aizen nodded, "So none of them know about his hollow powers."

"You're doing a lot to make sure none of the Espada or other Arrancar discover about his hollow abilities, why is that?" Gin asked cautiously.

"Because I want them to underestimate him, can you picture Grimmjow's reaction when he realises that Kurosaki can go another level beyond Bankai?" Aizen asked him.

Gin chuckled, oh yes he could see Grimmjow's reaction when he discovers just how much stronger the boy was than him.

"Aizen-sama!"

Both of them looked in the direction of the voice and saw that Tōsen was approaching them and bowed before Aizen.

"What is it Kaname?" Aizen asked him.

"Ulquiorra has returned and she has brought the human girl that you requested."

Aizen smiled, "Excellent."

With that Aizen changed direction and headed to the throne room to welcome his guest.

**Throne Room**

Aizen entered the room and walked over to his throne as he glanced at those that were already inside the chamber before sitting down.

Currently in the room were Gin and Tōsen of course as they had followed him, and standing in a horizontal line of three were Ulquiorra, Wonderweiss, and Yammy. Standing a few yards behind them was Inoue and a bit further was Grimmjow.

Aizen mentally smirked at the look on Yammy and Grimmjow's face; he was going to enjoy calling them out on their failures.

"Welcome to Las Noches." Aizen welcomed, "You're called Inoue Orihime, correct?"

"Yes" Inoue replied softly, completely terrified of being in Aizen's presence.

Aizen leant forward with concealed excitement, "I'm sorry to rush this, but, Orihime could you show me your power?"

Inoue's body froze, her eyes widened as she felt a force overpower her, _'What is this? It feels like all of the power in my body is getting sucked out.'_

"Please heal Grimmjow's left arm and also both of Yammy's in order to demonstration of your powers" Aizen told her and then warned Yammy, "Now Yammy, I know that you have a tendency to eliminate your healers but I am telling you now, if you lay a finger on her, your death will be most unpleasant."

A second later and Yammy was sent crashing to his knees at the force of Aizen's Reiatsu and struggled to breathe and painfully nodded his head in acceptance.

Inoue walked over towards Grimmjow whom was currently surprised that he was going to get his arm back and Inoue said softly, "Sōten Kisshun"

Her healing barrier surrounded Grimmjow's arm and he was amazed at he felt his arm coming back together and seconds later it was fully healed. Once it was healed, she headed towards Yammy as Grimmjow marvelled at his knew arm, he didn't think that it was possible since Tōsen turned it into ash as Aizen spoke up;

"Ulquiorra perceived it as a reversing time or reverting spaces."

"Correct" Ulquiorra acknowledged.

"I too first thought that but in fact that is incorrect."

Everyone looked confused especially Inoue, as she just finished healing Yammy and walked back a few steps. Curiosity filled her mind, she never really knew what kind of powers hers was and Urahara or Yoruichi didn't even know.

"This is phenomenon rejection. Her ability allows her to limit, reject or deny things that happened to a certain object. It allows her to make things as they were before anything happened to them. This power is even greater than turning back time or reverting spaces. As a result, she can overturn events decided by God herself. Her ability impinges upon God's territory."

Everyone was silent as they took in everything that Aizen had just told them and some looked at Inoue in fear but Grimmjow said,

"Hey woman, heal one more spot." As Inoue looked at him, he pointed to the large scar on his back where the number 6 used to be. He gained a maniacal grin on his face when it was healed, revealing in the fact that he had his power back and now he would destroy Kurosaki Ichigo for the humiliation that he had suffered.

"Ulquiorra, please escort Orihime to the room that she will be saying." Aizen told his most loyal servant.

"Very well" Ulquiorra said bowing and began leaving the woman as Inoue followed knowing that he had no choice but to follow.

Turning to his other subordinate he said, "Kaname, please take Wonderweiss and scout Las Noches, make sure that everyone is still obeying. We are close to beginning the new world; we can't afford to have any insubordination now."

Tōsen bowed and left the room with Wonderweiss following.

Aizen looked at Grimmjow and Yammy with concealed contempt.

"What are you two still doing here? I would leave before I destroy you for your pitiful performance."

It didn't take them long to leave, both fuming at the reminder of their defeat at the hands of Ichigo and both vowed to be the one that destroys not only Ichigo but Aizen as well.

Aizen stood up and left the room heading towards the location of the Hōgyoku whilst Gin remained behind.

Once Aizen had left the room, the large smile on Gin's face dropped as he thought of the reason that he was here and when should he do what he intended to do. Ever since he found Rangiku lying on the ground surrounded by a few men along with Aizen and knew that they did something to her, he swore to kill him. He was just waiting for the moment in order to do that, he had learned quickly just how powerful Aizen was, so he couldn't fight him directly. So he decided to join him in order to stab him in the back but first needed a way to counter the effects of Kyōka Suigetsu and he found it but it took him over a century to get it. Still he knew that Aizen trusted no one, so he wouldn't be surprised if Aizen knew that he was planning to betray him and so he was forced to wait until the opportune moment. Thankfully, he knew exactly when that opportunity would be and that was when Aizen was on the verge of victory, that would be when he is most arrogant and his guard will be open.

**Hōgyoku Chamber**

Aizen entered the room where his beloved Hōgyoku lay and he walked towards the middle of the room where his chair was located before holding out his left arm to his side. Out of the ground came a long cylinder container and he opened it up, revealing two Hōgyoku sitting inside, one was a dull purple-bluish colour while the other was a shiny purple bluish colour.

Aizen picked up the dull one and said to himself, "So this one still isn't close to awakening, a few more months unfortunately. I must admit, I was very frustrated that I couldn't awaken this quickly as my own will not be able to devour it and become complete until it awakens but thankfully I have finally found a way. With Orihime's power of rejection, it will awaken it and I will finally obtain the complete Hōgyoku."

He put it back and closed the container, it seemed such a simple place to hide it but it was in the most secure place, since he put multiple Kido and Seals all over the room. Effectively no one but him would be able to access the room let alone getting the Hōgyoku, only those he allowed into the room could gain access.

Now he would go and get Orihime to awaken the Hōgyoku and prepare for Kurosaki Ichigo and his friends that would charge into Hueco Mundo in order to save their friend. Soon he would have the true power of the Hōgyoku at his disposal and he would use the power to break the barrier that stopped him from his Shinigami limits. Fortunately he was the only one that knew the true power of the Hōgyoku and that Gin was in for a big surprise when he would attempt to kill him.

As he left the room, he final thought was on his next experiment that was arriving to Hueco Mundo and this time it wasn't Kurosaki Ichigo's development. This time it involved Kuchiki Rukia.

**Kurosaki Residence**

Ichigo's eyes shot open as he felt himself falling and before he could regain his bearings, he was face first into the floor. His blanket had half fallen off with him as he got up groggily, his right hand rubbing his forehead but he was suddenly aware that he felt no pain from his injuries. He stood up and removed all of the bandages and noticed that he didn't have a bruise let alone any large scars. He put his left hand on his forehead, the same hand that was damaged in the Kurohitsugi spell and concentrated on the Reiatsu that healed his injuries.

His eyes widened as he felt that it was Inoue's but before he could think on it a voice spoke up from his window;

"It's Inoue Orihime, most likely"

Ichigo looked towards his window to see Hitsugaya on the window sill with a frown on his face, "Come with me Kurosaki, this is urgent."

Hearing the seriousness in Hitsugaya's voice stopped Ichigo from asking questions and quickly he put Kon in charge of his body and followed Hitsugaya.

**Inoue's House**

Moments later, Ichigo followed Hitsugaya into Inoue's house and he was surprised to see a large television against the wall and noticed that all of the Shinigami that Soul Society had sent. However the worried look on Rukia's face and the lack of Inoue's presence in her own her made Ichigo concerned.

"Why are we all meeting here? Where's Inoue?"

"That's why we brought you here Kurosaki" Hitsugaya said, "She has disappeared."

Ichigo's eyes widened and he sought Rukia and he immediately knew that Hitsugaya was telling him the truth.

"We haven't been able to find her ever since the battle yesterday." Rukia told him as Hitsugaya told Matsumoto to turn on the Television in order to report to the Captain Commander.

"We are trying to work out what happened." Renji informed him, "We dealt with the Espada that arrived before the Negación protected them, so it couldn't be them."

Ichigo nodded but a thought came to mind and he asked Renji, "What Espada were you talking about?"

Renji gave him an annoyed and confused look before replying, "The two that you fought and the child like one. Ishida and Sado killed the other."

The answer came to Ichigo immediately that he was embarrassed that it took him so long but now he knew what Ulquiorra was doing here in the first place. He was so absorbed on the fact that his family was in danger that it didn't enter his mind the reason why Ulquiorra told him. It was to get Inoue on her own, the Shinigami would have sensed the increased in his own Reiatsu and they would head in the direction that he was along with Chad and Ishida. This would have left Inoue on her own and vulnerable to Ulquiorra.

Still there was one thing that confused him and that was, if Ulquiorra kidnapped Inoue, then how did she heal him?

He voiced his confusion to the others which added to their own confusion until an elderly voice spoke up from the television.

"I see. What a pity."

Ichigo looked at the screen to see the Captain Commander standing there looking grave.

"A pity? What do you mean?" Ichigo questioned.

"If what you say is true, the Inoue Orihime is still alive. But at the same time, that means that she is a traitor."

"A traitor?" Ichigo asked confused as it dawned on the others what the Commander was getting at.

"If she was kidnapped, then she would not have been able to see you. As such, healing your injuries and then disappearing means that Inoue Orihime joined forces with the Arrancar of her own free will."

As the words from the Commander rang through Ichigo's ear, he couldn't stop the sudden rise of anger that filled up his being. Who the hell was this old man to call Inoue a traitor when he didn't even know her; there was no way that Inoue would consider joining Aizen unless she was forced. She would have been taken physically or through blackmail.

"You asshole!" Ichigo growled as he prepared to destroy the television but was held back by a calm Renji who had grabbed his shoulder.

"Anything else you say will just make things worse for her." Renji told him and then said to the Commander, "We understand Yamamoto-Soutaicho. I, Fukutaicho of the 6th Division and member of Hitsugaya-Taicho's advance guard, Abarai Renji seek permission to go to Hueco Mundo and bring the traitor Inoue Orihime back to our side."

"Renji..." Ichigo said gratefully, he bristled a bit at Renji calling Inoue a traitor but figured that he was just buttering up to Yamamoto.

Renji gave him a small smirk but both their eyes widened when Yamamoto hit the ground with his Zanpakutō concealed cane and said,

"Permission Denied. Now that it is clear that the Arrancar are preparing for battle, all members of Hitsugaya's advance guard must return immediately to help fortify Soul Society's defences."

All of the members looked dejected but didn't dispute the order except for Rukia.

"Are you... telling us to abandon Inoue?"

"Exactly, the weight of one life cannot compare to that of the entire world." Yamamoto explained.

Rukia protested however, "Soutaicho, I'm afraid I won't be able to follow those orders."

Yamamoto didn't react at all to this; it had been something he had been expecting. "As I expected. Fortunately I anticipated that some of you might say as much and made special arrangements."

It was then when a Senkaimon opened up behind them and everyone turned to see both Kuchiki Byakuya and Zaraki Kenpachi.

"You heard him. Time to go back guys." Kenpachi said.

Ichigo scowled as any resistance from the others vanished at the appearance of the two Taicho.

"Don't resist. We've been ordered to take you back by force if necessary." Byakuya added.

Ichigo's head bowed as the others looked at him; a sudden memory came to the forefront.

'_Do you honestly believe that Soul Society cares about a Substitute Shinigami and a few other humans that are capable of utilizing Reiatsu?'_

Aizen's taunt came to his mind as he realised that it was true, Soul Society only cared about protecting themselves which he understood. They had a whole world that they need to defend and he was a fool to think that they would risk their lives to help save a singular human albeit one with powers.

"I understand, I won't ask Soul Society for help." Ichigo acknowledged before asking, "But can you at least tell me how to get to Hueco Mundo?"

He looked at the Soutaicho, determination shining in his eyes, "Inoue is my friend, and I'll go save her on my own."

One of Yamamoto's eyes opened and much to Ichigo's shock he said no.

"We'll need your strength for the upcoming battle. I won't allow you to act foolishly on your own and die like a dog. Wait until you receive your orders. That is all."

With that the communication broke away leaving the screen now blank as anger bubbled just below the surface of Ichigo's body. Rukia and Renji looked at Ichigo sadly, both wanting to disobey their orders and save Inoue but knew it was futile to try and fight Byakuya and Kenpachi. Still they both didn't understand why the Soutaicho didn't just tell him how, that way Ichigo would be less furious with them as there was another person he could go to in order to get that information. They all prepared to leave when Ichigo suddenly withdrew his Zanpakutō and slashed the monitor in half, from the top right corner to the bottom left corner.

A few of the others looked surprise by Ichigo's sudden anger, especially Rukia; she had never known Ichigo to take his temper out like this.

"There is someone else that can help me." Ichigo muttered and didn't glance back at the Shinigami before Shunpoing away.

"Ichigo..." Rukia murmured with concern, there was no doubt that Ichigo would make it to Hueco Mundo somehow even if Urahara refuses for some reason. Her eyes connected with Renji's and he understood what she was thinking and gave her a very slight nod. Both would follow Ichigo to Hueco Mundo, they just had to wait for the chance to do so.

**With Ichigo**

Ichigo was currently heading towards Urahara's shop in order to get to Hueco Mundo but his thoughts were currently on what Yamamoto had said. The nerve of that old bastard, 'Wait for your orders.' He didn't recall that he was currently under employ for Soul Society, if that was the case then where the hell was his pay checks.

It was then that Ichigo sensed a Garganta opening near the river and saw a Hollow emerge much to his annoyance as he headed to go take it out.

'_This hollow picked a very bad time to arrive in this town. I am in a seriously pissed of mood.'_

He withdrew his Zanpakutō and shunpoed behind the Hollow and before it could react, his sword had sliced through its mask and it purified. Putting his Zanpakutō away, he prepared to continue his journey to Urahara's a voice spoke up,

"Hey! Wh-Wh-Who the hell are you?"

Ichigo looked behind him to see a Shinigami with a large afro standing on the pavement on the walkway above the river.

"All dressed up like a Shinigami and shit! Very suspicious."

"Who are you?" Ichigo asked, aggravation lacing his voice.

"My name is Kurumadani Zennosuke" He said pointing to himself, "I am an elite Shinigami tasked with watching this area in Kuchiki Rukia's stead who was pulled out on account of some crime or something. Well? Surprised?"

Ichigo looked at him dully; this guy was so low in the order of Soul Society he doesn't even know anything about the events that Rukia had been involved in.

"I'm Kurosaki Ichigo, Karakura Town's substitute Shinigami." He pulled out his skull badge and held it out in front of him, "See? Here's my badge."

"What?" Zennosuke scoffed before erupting into laughter and said, "What the hell is that? I've never seen or heard of a substitute Shinigami badge."

Ichigo scowled, "What the fuck? This thing is useless." He then looked at the laughing Shinigami with annoyance and shunpoed away, already sick of dealing with him.

Zennosuke stopped laughing as he realised that Ichigo was gone, "How did he do that? Dammit! He didn't even apologise for taking my kill!"

As Ichigo headed back to Urahara's shop, his thoughts had turned to his substitute Shinigami badge, _'Was that guy so low that he didn't even know what this badge was? Why replace Rukia with someone like that? Hell why send Rukia here in the first place when she is clearly at a Fukutaicho level? Or does this badge in fact have another purpose that I am unaware of? Why did Ukitake give me that reasoning?'_

Ichigo shook his head, he didn't have time to think about this, he had to save Inoue, and he would worry about the badge later.

It wasn't long until he arrived at Urahara's shop and was surprised to see Urahara outside waiting for him.

"Ah! Kurosaki-san!" Urahara acknowledged cheerfully.

"Urahara-san" Ichigo nodded, "I need your help-."

"To get to Hueco Mundo, correct?" Urahara cut him off, his smile hidden behind his fan.

Ichigo nodded and Urahara told him, "I have already begun preparations but it won't be ready until tonight."

"Okay" Ichigo said, he would have to spend some time training for the rest of the day but it seemed that Urahara knew what he was thinking.

"Perhaps you should take it easy today, take the time to spend it with your friends and family."

At Ichigo's confused look, Urahara explained, "The reason I didn't have any hesitation to send you all to Soul Society was because if you lost, they would have taken you alive. If all of you had been captured then I would have interfered along with Yoruichi but it won't be the case this time. I and Yoruichi will not be able to assist you as we have tasks our own to complete and in Hueco Mundo, they will be fighting to kill. This is going to be an extremely dangerous mission, so enjoy this day in case the worst happens."

**Karakura High School**

Ichigo walked into the school for the first time since he left for Soul Society and he had to admit that he missed his old and normal life. He could hear the whispers of students no doubt all astonished to see him back in school again much to his slight annoyance but it was something that he was used to. He entered the classroom just as the class began and his sensei was certainly surprised to see him.

"Kurosaki... this is a surprise, what brings you here? Are you still apprenticing at that whack jobs?"

Ichigo nodded, "Had the day off so I came to school in order to hand in all of my assignments."

"Well, thank you, you were even able to complete assignments that most haven't even started yet and they are due tomorrow." Miss Ochi said to Ichigo but the last part was directed to the rest of the class and some of the students shuffled slightly. Ichigo mentally snorted when he saw that Mizuiro and Keigo in the group of people that shuffled.

He sat down at his desk, taking the chance to look at the empty desk next to him that Rukia usually sat at. He followed this up by looking around the classroom and noticed that Chad, Ishida and Tatsuki were also missing. Ishida and Chad he knew but was surprised that Tatsuki wasn't, then again he hadn't explained to the others just what happened yesterday, so he wondered if she was looking for him. Or was it not a coincidence that Tatsuki doesn't come to school just at the time Inoue is missing?

He sat through the lesson impatiently, wanting the day to hurry and finish so that he could head to Hueco Mundo. By the time lunch was just about to commence, Ichigo decided to leave then, he decided to go hunt some hollow to pass the time. Once the bell sounded, Ichigo was the first to leave however when he was walking down the corridor a loud voice yelled behind him,

"Ichigo! Ichigo! Ichigo! Ichigo! Ichigo! Ichigo!"

He instinctively raised his right arm into the air in a close line position and Keigo ran straight into it, collapsing onto the ground in a heap. Mizuiro then walked up behind the downed Keigo, before resting his right foot on Keigo's back causing the downed boy to groan.

"Hey Ichigo, I got you that ticket for Bad Shield that we talked about a while ago." Mizuiro said holding out a ticket as Keigo brushed him off and said, "Why the hell did you do that Mizuiro?"

Ichigo looked at the both curiously, neither looked like asking about what happened yesterday as took the ticket and asked, "When is it again?"

"December 5th" Mizuiro answered as Ichigo looked at it carefully and nodded, "Got it. I'll come back before then."

Both Mizuiro and Keigo looked confused and slightly worried wondering if it had something to do with what happened yesterday.

"Thanks Mizuiro" Ichigo said gratefully as he walked away until another voice spoke up stopping him dead in his tracks. He turned back slightly to see a panting Tatsuki standing in front of his two friends.

"What is it, Tatsuki?"

Tatsuki steadied her breathing before answering, "I can't find Orihime. She isn't at home or anywhere else. I can't sense her at all! I've searched everywhere, but I can't find her!" She walked towards Ichigo and stood only a couple of feet away from and asked him accusingly, "You know where Orihime is, don't you?"

Ichigo thought to try and deny it but she saw what happened yesterday and would probably try to work out everything and then try to save Inoue by herself.

"Inoue was kidnapped" He told her truthfully, startling Mizuiro and Keigo however Tatsuki's frowned deepened as her suspicions were confirmed.

"So what are we doing?" Tatsuki said angrily, "Let's go and rescue her."

"I'm leaving tonight and I am going to go rescue her" He told her bluntly.

"Where do I meet you?" Tatsuki declared determinedly.

"You don't, you are not coming" Ichigo told her and cut her off before she could respond, "You don't possess the strength to fight these guys, they are not human. When I return with her, then we will explain everything but for now stay here."

With that, Ichigo walked away and never looked back as Tatsuki stared at the ground helplessly while Mizuiro and Keigo looked at their female friend in concern.

**Urahara's shop**

Ichigo walked towards the entrance of Urahara's shop in his Shinigami form as he had left Kon in his human body. He had hunted a few hollow and spent the evening hanging with his sisters. He smiled when he recalled how he took them to the cinemas; he certainly took them by surprise when he declared that they were going out for the day. He was glad that he listened to Urahara's advice and spent time with his family, if he didn't he would probably would be all tense and nervous. However now, he was relax but determined, he wanted to spend more of these types of days with his sisters and he swore that he would come back intact.

Once he arrived, he saw Urahara standing outside waiting for him.

"Is it ready?" Ichigo asked straight to the point.

"Of course" Urahara confirmed as he led Ichigo inside and guided him down into the training room. They walked towards a clearing in the field and Ichigo saw some equipment lying on the ground and in mid air next to one of the small mountains.

"You do realise that you will be going against Soul Society by helping me?" Ichigo questioned him.

"That's how I ended up here in the first place." Urahara replied cheerfully and then said, "By the way, that communication monitor that you broke, they're going to charge you for the repairs out of your pay."

Ichigo scoffed, "I don't recall being under their employee, since I don't see them giving me any cash."

"Actually they are." Urahara told him and seeing Ichigo's skeptical look he said, "They pay you for your services in the real world and charge it to the account that is set up for you in Soul Society. Once your human life is up and you go to Soul Society permanently then you will be able to access it."

Ichigo's jaw dropped in astonishment, "I have been getting paid?"

"Yup" Urahara said.

"You look pretty relaxed for what we are going up against Kurosaki" A voice spoke up from Ichigo's left and he saw Ishida sitting on a large boulder. He was wearing his typical white Quincy clothes with blue stripes representing the Quincy cross and a mantle.

"Ishida... so you're here-."

"To rescue Inoue" Chad said from behind as he walked towards Ichigo, "We're coming with you."

"Chad..." Ichigo said mentally slapping himself for being surprised that they were here.

"Inoue is our friend, we are coming whether you like it or not." Chad told him firmly.

"Yeah" Ishida agreed but both were surprised when Ichigo just smirked, "I don't recall telling you guys not to come."

Both Chad and Ishida looked surprised and Ichigo acknowledged, "I can't do this on my own."

Ishida smirked, "Well, looks like you have matured a bit in the past month, Kurosaki."

"Shut up" Ichigo scowled, "Let's just get on with this."

"If you are all done, then let's get started." Urahara told them as he stood on a large wooden post. The opening where the Garganta would be opened is generated between two large wooden posts jutting out from two large rock formations.

He held out his hand and began incanting, "My right hand is the stone that bridges worlds. My left hand is the blade that binds reality. The black-haired shepherd is hung from a chair. Stratus clouds come, and I strike down the ibis"

In the opening, a large Garganta was ripped open and the three prepared to jump in as Urahara told them, "When you jump inside, you will have to form a path using your Reishi and head into the darkness."

"No problem" Ishida replied, controlling his Reishi was as easy as breathing to him.

"Let's go." Ichigo said and the three of them jumped into the Garganta and headed to Hueco Mundo.

Urahara watched them go before smiling and he called out, "Are you three going to come out or what?"

Behind a rock, Tatsuki, Mizuiro and Keigo appeared and all of them looked sheepish about being caught.

"Um, how long did you know that we were here?"

"The whole time" Urahara answered them, "I left the shop open and the hidden door to this room open so that you would follow."

They all looked away as Urahara looked them in amusement before he muttered to himself, "Well I better get to the job I was assigned."

**Garganta**

In the Garganta, Ichigo and his two companions ran through the dimension between the real world and Hueco Mundo. Ichigo was in front running along a path of Reishi, it was relatively stable but at different parts, either they were strong and sturdy or extremely fragile.

"You're Reiatsu control is much better than I expected Kurosaki" Ishida spoke up and Ichigo noticed that he was riding on a small border of Reishi much to Ichigo's aggravation.

"How the hell are you doing that?"

"I am just using a variation of Hirenkyaku. This is nothing." Ishida told him.

"Then make me one" Ichigo demanded, he hated doing these types of delicate tasks.

Ishida pushes his glasses closer to his eyes, "Sorry, but with your Reiatsu manipulation skills you'd never be able to control it."

A tick mark appeared on Ichigo's forehead, "What did you say? You make it sound like I have no ability at all?"

"Am I wrong?" Ishida smirked at him.

Ichigo growled, "I'm gonna kill you when this is over!"

Ishida scoffed, "All right, I'm off!"

However as he was about to fly further ahead, Chad spoke up,

"Ishida..." Seeing that he had the Quincy's attention he asked, "I only heard about this from Urahara-san, but you made some sort of deal with your father, right? In exchange for receiving training, you wouldn't get involved with any Shinigami or their comrades. So why are you hear?"

"For real?" Ichigo asked, "I didn't know about that Ishida. Is that true?"

"Yes, it is true." Ishida answered, "However Urahara informed me that you were heading alone and so I was able to come."

"Why?" Ichigo continued to question, "Even if Soul Society isn't involved, it doesn't change the fact that I am a Shinigami."

"You're wrong." Ishida rebutted, "You are a human with Shinigami and Hollow powers. On top of which, you were abandoned by Soul Society. In other words, you aren't a Shinigami and you aren't their friend. So there aren't any constraints concerning this matter."

"That's pretty weak logic." Ichigo told him.

"I prefer to think that I found a loop hole."

"Like I said that's weak logic." Ichigo argued.

"Shut up!" Ishida said annoyed, "Whose side are you on anyway?"

"Your enemy's." Was Ichigo's answer.

Chad watched the argument with a smile as he thought, _'That is just like Ishida'_

Together, the three picked up the pace as they headed towards Hueco Mundo intending to rescue their friend.

**Hueco Mundo**

Aizen sat on his throne as he waited for his guests to arrive, he was sensing out over majority of Hueco Mundo that he controlled when suddenly he felt a burst of Reiatsu appear. It was pretty far away but there was no mistaking it.

"They've come."

**Soul Society**

The moment that they had arrived from the real world, the Shinigami were ordered to a Captains meeting to give them their report on the Arrancar that had invaded the real world. The meeting went for at least an hour before being dismissed, as they all left to their respective divisions in order to prepare for the war.

Rukia and Renji were currently conversing in a hushed whisper, both trying to figure out how to get to Hueco Mundo when Ukitake called Rukia over as he was preparing to head to his division.

"What is it Ukitake-Taicho?" Rukia asked formally.

Ukitake smiled at one of his most precious members, a member that he was going to promote to Fukutaicho the second this war was over.

"I need you to report to Byakuya for orders on your role in this war." He told her happily.

Rukia nodded as she hurried over to where Byakuya was, which was him heading to his barracks with Renji following.

"Nii-sama" Rukia shouted as she approached from behind and Byakuya stopped indicating that he was listening.

"Ukitake-Taicho told me to come to you for my orders."

"I was only ordered to bring you both back." Byakuya informed them as he began walking away, "I wasn't ordered to do anything with either of you once we returned. Do as you like."

Rukia beamed momentarily at Byakuya's back as Renji smirked, his eye quickly catching Rukia's and both nodded. With that, they headed off to the Kuchiki clans personal Senkaimon in order to catch up with Ichigo and the others.

**Like it Review it. Don't like it then don't read it.**

**That was my shortest chapter but I didn't feel I needed to add any more. Most things that happened in the manga that I didn't include here, pretty much is the canon version. Like Isshin and Ishida's conversation, however Inoue's 'farewell' is different and will be shown next chapter. My Inoue isn't in love with Ichigo and I will show you why, again in the next chapter.**

**Now for all my readers, let's try and get to 100 reviews before the next chapter, because that would be pretty cool.**

**As for my question on Ichigo's future with Soul Society, it looks like most want the trusting relationship which I do not mind doing at all. **

**I wonder how many will be able to guess what Aizen wants with Rukia?**

**I have put up a new poll on my profile, along with all of my future stories and I am asking which story is sounds the most interesting so please check it out.  
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**Next Chapter: Aizen's Experiment.**

**Ishida's new bow is revealed.**

**What Aizen wants with Rukia is revealed.**

**Meeting Nel**

**Some more fights.**

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**This arc is amazing so far, the pacing is excellent and it is much darker. The death and history of Chōjirō Sasakibe was very interesting to say the least. **

**Ishida's final form was apparently a weak and old relic which is pretty terrifying considering how strong it was. Ichigo is struggling a bit with this guy but I am glad he hasn't gone Bankai, probably worried because of how Ivan attempted to seal it. **

**The summoning of Ayon I found annoying, hopefully this Quincy kicks his ass and then Ichigo is forced to using his hollow mask instead of Bankai to fight him.**


	9. Aizen's Experiment

**Disclaimer: I Don't Own Bleach**

**First of all I need to apologize to you all for the length of time that it took me to post this chapter. I must beg you all for your forgiveness. The first 5,000-6,000 words of this chapter were such a pain to write but I got through it, since this is the last 'boring' chapter, as all the good fights start to begin in the next chapter, so updates will be quicker.**

**Chapter 9 – Aizen's Experiment**

"This isn't how I pictured Hueco Mundo" Ichigo declared as he and his two nakama arrived into Hueco Mundo.

After breaking out at the Garganta which was kind of like jumping through a window, they found themselves in a dark hallway. Ishida touched one of the thick walls and deducted quietly,

"This isn't made of Sekkiseki, so that means that it can break."

Ichigo ignored him and said loudly, "I always thought Hueco Mundo would be a pigsty."

"Quiet down Kurosaki. I'm sure they have some sort of invader-detection system and already know that we're here." Ishida lectured.

Ichigo responded by walking away and asking himself, "Is this really Hueco Mundo?"

Ishida scowled, "Are you listening Kurosaki?"

"I'm listening" Ichigo said, turning back and looking at him dully, "Besides you're the one talking louder than I am." The dull look turned into a smirk and he said, "Well, things would go a lot quicker if they came after us. We can just grab someone nearby and make them tell us where Inoue is."

With that, Ichigo began walking down the hall, yelling for someone to appear much to Ishida's aggravation. However Chad cut him off, "He's right." And began following Ichigo.

"Not you too, Sado-kun" Ishida protested but neither acknowledged him and he sighed in acceptance before beginning to follow them.

A few minutes later they came across a turn and Ishida being cautious, discreetly checked to see if anybody was approaching. Ichigo and Chad had other ideas however and just walked out without a care in the world much to Ishida's frustration.

"What are you doing" He whispered furiously causing both Ichigo and Chad to stop and look back at him, "We need to be careful, we don't want to fight anybody in here."

Ichigo replied back confused, "What are you talking about? We find someone and beat them down and force them to tell us where Inoue is."

Ishida sighed annoyed and pushed his glasses towards his eyes, "Tell me Kurosaki have you seen any windows?"

"Windows? No" Ichigo answered completely lost on the point Ishida was trying to make.

"Exactly which means that we are in the basement. Even someone with your intelligence knows what would happen if the walls are damaged in the fight."

Ichigo looked at him blankly and Chad answered, "Then the whole building will fall on top of us."

"Exactly" Ishida said, "Not even you will survive if it does Kurosaki."

"Tch!" Ichigo said looking away and muttered, "Fine"

Ishida sighed in relief but that relief vanished instantly when Ichigo began shouting for some Arrancar to appear.

"Dammit Kurosaki! Keep your voice down, we don't want to encounter anyone until we are in an open area!" Ishida whispered furiously as he punched the wall in frustration however his hand pressed into the wall indicating that he had hit a switch.

They all looked at it in horror and before they knew it, they were forced to sprint down the hallway as the path behind them began to break way. Thankfully they found an intersection and they quickly turned into the right corridor as the floor continued to break away and they all breathed a sigh of relief.

"That was a close one." Ishida said panting slightly and Chad nodded in agreement, if it wasn't for the lessons from Yoruichi then he might have fallen in.

"Good one Ishida" Ichigo remarked, "Yapping on about not alerting any Arrancar and then you hit a switch and almost killed us. If they didn't know about us before, they certainly know now."

"Shut up!" Ishida growled embarrassed knowing that Ichigo had a point.

"Can't believe you fell for such basic trick" Ichigo taunted him much to Ishida's embarrassment and began walking down the corridor before his right foot sunk into the floor.

"Shit..." Ichigo muttered and Ishida observed, "A basic trick, huh?"

"Shut up" Ichigo grunted as they heard something large approaching them.

"It couldn't be..." Ishida muttered.

"I think it is..." Ichigo said both had large sweat drops on the back of their heads.

The suspicions were confirmed, when a large boulder came rolling out of the corner towards them intending to squish them flat.

"They did" Ichigo groaned.

"A classic trick" Ishida said annoyed.

However the ever silent Chad stepped in front of them and activated his Brazo Derecha de Gigante and smashed the incoming boulder in pieces.

"Nice one Chad" Ichigo said and Chad responded with his classic thumbs up before Ishida lectured Ichigo, "You need to be more careful Kurosaki."

"Whatever" Ichigo said as he continued walking, thinking it was better to just agree with the Quincy then get into a pointless argument.

They continued searching through the halls and eventually came across a spacious room and on the opposite side of the room was a stairwell that leads them out.

"There is our exit" Ishida declared as the three nakama sprinted through the room but was cut off by a figure that had suddenly sonidoed in front of them in the middle of the large room. The Arrancar that had blocked them of had four arms which each contain extending fingers. His Hollow mask is in the shape of a beak and leaves only the upper-left quarter of his face visible. He didn't appear to have legs but seemed to hover in the air.

"Where are you going invader?"

'_Of course there would be an enemy blocking the exit'_ Ishida thought however seconds later, they heard loud footsteps approach from behind. The group turned around to see a Hollow the stood roughly 350cm in height. He appeared as a dark-skinned deformed human, and the remains of his Hollow mask covered the top of his face. He also has two strange linear emblems between this eyes and an enormous and deformed jaw. They saw that he tended to walk stooped because of his long arms which brushed the ground as if he were a primate. He also has black hair and a dread-locked hairstyle with several ornaments and outstanding earrings at the end of these. Underneath his mask, he has two lines tattooed down his cheeks.

"It looks like we have been trapped in a pincer-attack." Ishida said calmly.

"Don't remind them dumbass!" Ichigo retorted looking a mixture of annoyed and bored as he looked at the two hollow.

"Are these guys Arrancar?" Ichigo asked, "They seem more like regular Hollow compared to the Arrancar we've run into in the real world." He then shrugged, "I guess it doesn't matter."

It was then he was suddenly elbowed in the back of the head and sent him crashing into the wall. He got up angrily and yelled, "What the hell was that for Chad?!"

"It's time for you to back off Ichigo." Chad told him.

Ichigo looked confused and Ishida began, "This time..."

"...we'll be doing the fighting." Chad finished.

"That doesn't explain why you hit me into the fucking wall!"

"If we asked you to let us fight, would you?" Ishida asked with annoyance.

Thanks to his practise in sensing peoples Reiatsu, he was able to compare their Reiatsu to his and he discovered that they were far weaker.

"Yes." Ichigo said bluntly, "I've got no interest in fighting these two."

"Oh" Ishida muttered and both he and Chad were silent for a moment as they had both underestimated how much Ichigo had grown.

Ishida then glanced at both of the Hollow and told Ichigo, "When a Menos Grande breaks its mask and becomes an Arrancar, it usually takes on a human-like body. But only the most powerful class, the Vasto Lorde, have a 100% chance of successfully taking on truly human shape. A large number of the other two classes aren't able to take on a human form after becoming Arrancar." Ishida then turned his attention to the small Hollow and smirked at him but continued to tell Ichigo, "And the lower their intelligence is, the more they resemble ordinary Hollows."

However Ishida was interrupted when the large Hollow attempted to punch him but fortunately he sensed the attack coming and dodged it easily. Chad ran towards the large Hollow but was cut off by a few energy bullets hitting the floor before him.

"That was unforgivable." The shorter Hollow said, "Putting Demoura aside, you mean to say that I, Aisslinger, am of low intelligence? That is absolutely unforgivable!"

"Don't make it sound like I'm the only one that is stupid here!" Demoura shouted as he tried to squash Ishida and even though it was easy for Ishida to dodge he was frustrated. This Hollow's attacks focuses on the Reiatsu around his hands, making it impossible for him the use of his Reishi Heishō weapons.

Chad activated his Brazo Derecha de Gigante and launched a wordless El Directo however Aisslinger dodged it easily using Sonido and reappeared behind Chad.

"You said that we couldn't take on human forms?" Aisslinger asked, "We abandoned human forms in order to become even more powerful!"

Chad spun around in time to block the small bullets of Reiatsu that Aisslinger shot at him.

"Don't take us lightly, humans." Aisslinger warned them.

Ishida scoffed however as he jumped away from another one of Demoura's punches and told Chad, "Sado-kun let's not waste time here and finish this quickly."

Chad nodded and began pumping Reiatsu into his Brazo Derecha de Gigante and then punched towards Aisslinger and yelled out, "El Directo!"

The large wave of blue Reiatsu once again shot out of his arm as Aisslinger exclaimed, "That is never going to hit me."

However Chad knew this already and instead aimed for the floor a few metres in front of Aisslinger causing a large storm of dust and smoke to block Aisslinger's vision. However the Hollow wasn't concerned as he realised exactly what Chad was trying to do.

"You're trying to block my vision so I won't see you unleash that blast again, but unfortunately for you it won't work." He then held out all of his blaster tips and began firing a barrage of yellow Reiatsu bullets through the smoke, "I can fire a total of 108 bullets with mu Una Tirotear at once, and with your speed you will never be able to avoid them in order to launch your attack!"

"Are you sure about that?" A voice said from behind him causing his eyes to widen and he spun around after cancelling his attack. However before he turned around fully, the side of his face was hit by a large fist covered in blue Reiatsu and he felt his mask shatter and he crashed into the ground on the verge of death.

Ichigo looked on at Chad's battle in slight awe, he was extremely surprised by how fast he had become, and it seemed that all of his lessons with Yoruichi had paid off. He had to admit that he was curious as to what his technique was called as he hadn't seen anything like it, he had just vanished leaving a little green light where his feet was.

Demoura attempted again to crush Ishida with his giant hands but when he pulled his fist back in order to get more momentum in the hit, Ishida prepared to dodge. With this chance he prepared to use his Hirenkyaku and as Demoura brought his fist downwards, Ishida vanished as he smashed the ground.

"What? Where did he go?"

Ichigo looked on curiously as he saw that Ishida had reappeared behind Demoura. Ishida had gotten much faster and he believed that he would have given him a run for his money when he first activated his Bankai. He had also activated a bow that Ichigo had never seen before. It was pure white in colour with light blue elastic and Ichigo's eyes widened as he saw Reishi began gathering into the bar of the bow before an arrow appeared.

It was much bigger than any arrow that Ishida had formed before so he wasn't so surprised when it pierced through Demoura's head like it was butter. If anything it looked more like a spear than an arrow. The large Hollow collapsed into a heap before his body disintegrated.

However the instant his body had vanished, the room began shaking as cracks appeared on the walls and rubble began falling from the roof top.

"What the hell?" Ichigo asked.

"Crap" Ishida said, "It must be a failsafe should the guards ever be defeated."

"Run!" Ichigo yelled as they ran towards the exit at top speed and much to their horror, they saw that large piles of sand had begun descending from the roof. It didn't take long for the entire room to be filled up with sand and thankfully for the three invaders, they had almost reached the top of the stairs before they were engulfed by it.

It only took them a few seconds to burst out before coughing up all of the sand that had been forced into their mouths. Ichigo stood up and began tugging at different areas of his Shihakushō in order to get rid of all the sand that was stuck inside much to his discomfort.

"I can't believe we got out of there." Ichigo stated with relief, he had fought powerful Shinigami and Hollow, yet he almost died by a large pile of sand.

Ishida and Chad didn't respond as they were busy cleaning away all the sand that had gotten stuck in their bodies and so Ichigo took this chance to look around. It was a very dark place due to the fact that it was night time and Ichigo had a feeling that it this place was always eternally at night. He saw that they were in a desert and that sand that was normally yellow in the human world was white here.

"It's a lonely place" Ichigo said, "It's completely desolate, just pure white."

"There are some plants, even if they're withered." Chad acknowledged.

"No they're not." Ishida disagreed as he snapped a small bit of a tree of an inspected it, "They're made of some quartz like crystals."

"Look" Chad said suddenly causing Ichigo and Ishida to spin around into the direction he was facing and their eyes widened when they saw a large structure far off into the distance.

"Is that a castle... or a fortress?" Ichigo asked.

"So this must be Los Noches." Ishida answered.

"It's so huge." Chad said, "It's throwing off my sense of direction."

Ishida nodded, "At least seeing it from a distance gives us a good idea how big it is."

"It doesn't matter how far it is." Ichigo declared, "That's where Inoue will be being held right?"

"Most likely." Ishida stated logically, "There aren't any other places they could hide her."

"We'll then let's get running." Ichigo said with a sigh, it was going to take them a long time to get there especially running in thick sandy plains.

Only after a few minutes of running did Ichigo ask a question that had been on his mind, "Hey Chad, what was the light when you moved at a high speed?"

"I don't know" Chad said truthfully, "I haven't really thought about it, all I need to know is that it helps me move a lot quicker."

Ichigo nodded, "Does it have a name?"

Chad shook his head but didn't answer, and Ichigo knew that he wasn't interested in talking about it.

Ichigo then directed his next question at Ishida, "What about your new bow? What its name and what does it do?"

"It's called the Quincy's Heilig Bogen." Ishida stated as he held up his right hand and Ichigo could see a small metal wrist band covering his white and blue glove. "I activate it with my Reiatsu and unlike my other bow that is used to deal with multiple opponents, this one however is much more effective in a one on one fight. The power of the arrows is similar to your Getsuga Tensho, when I gather Reishi into the bow; it amplifies the power that is collected."

Ichigo smirked, "Nice, hope your skinny arms can handle holding onto that much power."

"Shut up Kurosaki!" Ishida retorted.

After half an hour of running, they decided to take a break and try to figure out a plan when they arrived at Los Noches. Ichigo and Chad sat on the sound whilst Ishida had been lucky to find a quartz log to sit on and Ichigo suddenly noticed a small lizard like Hollow.

"You know, I thought this would be a world with nothing but death when we first got here. But there are actually some little animals here, too. Even though they are Hollow." Ichigo said before he gained a confused look on his face, "Hey don't Hollows have to eat Human souls? What do you think that tiny guy eats to stay alive?"

"Here in Hueco Mundo, the air has a high concentration of Reishi. Most likely, small Hollows are able to get enough energy by simply breathing." Ishida answered.

"Reishi in the air? How do you even know that?"

"Quincy fights using the Reishi around them." Ishida explained, "I always felt best when there is a bunch of Reishi around. I confirmed it in the battle earlier. Just knowing that should make me more powerful here than I was in Soul Society or the human world."

"That's pretty convenient." Ichigo commenting before smirking and said, "So you feel better when surrounded by a bunch of Reishi around? Sounds kinda like a Hollow to me."

"Excuse me?!" Ishida shouted as he stood up sharply, "Shinigami are practically the same!"

"Well I'm different." Ichigo retorted.

"Yeah _only_ you." Ishida said, "Remember, Kuchiki-san was able to regain her Reiatsu by staying in Soul Society."

"Rukia's just weird like that." Ichigo answered bluntly.

Ishida scoffed, "Anyway, the fact that their air is thick with Reishi will be an advantage for the Arrancar as well as me. I don't know how many Hollow Aizen has transformed into Arrancar or how well he can control them. Even if he isn't controlling them, as far as the Arrancar are concerned, we're not only the enemy but also food. In addition, if we come across a normal-looking Hollow, it's likely that the Reishi in Hueco Mundo's air will make it a lot stronger then it would be in the real world. If we carefully observe-."

"You talk too much." Ichigo interrupted, "Let's go."

"Stop saying that!" Ishida demanded.

"You're a pain in the ass dude. But you're free to keep talking. C'mon Chad." Ichigo said as he and his tall friend began walking away from an annoyed Ishida.

"Wait!" Ishida shouted as he ran after them however they all stopped suddenly as they felt the ground beneath them. Seconds later a giant, eel-like Hollow whose mask consists of a simple plate on his head with a pair of horns burst out of the sand and it was followed by two Arrancar.

One of the Arrancar had a large, heavyset, but dumpy body with short appendages with small, white hands and feet. He wore a hooded yellow bodysuit which was covered with black polka dots of varying sizes. His head was very large, being almost as big as his body, and his Hollow mask covered his entire head. The eyes and mouth also functioned properly as if it was his real face. His mask resembled a stereotypical tiki mask with exaggerated colourful features, including large eyes and teeth, as well as a prominent nose.

The other had the form of a humanoid Arrancar whose head was almost completely covered by his mask, which resembled an insect-like head with large mandibles and horns. His large left eye, yellow in colour, was visible through an eyehole on the front of his mask. However, his right eye was concealed by a purple eye patch, which is attached to his brow. He has blond hair, some of which struck out from under the back of his mask. The majority of his body was purple, but he wore a white, armour-like vest that covered the upper part of his torso, as well as white armour on his forearms and shins. He also wore a loincloth around his waist, which was a lighter shade of purple than the rest of his body. His Hollow hole was positioned near his stomach, directly beneath the edge of his vest. He walks around barefoot, and had only three toes on each foot.

What really got their attention however the figure that they were chasing was, and it appeared to be a human child. Judging by the screams, it was a little girl.

"A human?" Ichigo asked in confusion.

"No way! There couldn't possibly be another human here!" Ishida said in disbelief.

"We'll figure it out later, let's go save her." Ichigo declared as he pulled his sheath off of his back and kept his sword inside and shunpoed in front the dumpy Hollow. He swung the sheathed blade into his face and knocked him into the sand and followed up with planting his left foot onto his stomach keeping him planted on the sand.

Ishida had appeared in front of the humanoid Arrancar with his Heilig Bogen activated and the Arrancar surrendered immediately whilst Chad grabbed eel like Hollow.

"S-stop, stop it!" A young female voice spoke up startling the three invaders.

"What did Nel's bruddies ever do to you? Stop bullyin' dems." She asked as she removed her hood and revealed that she was an Arrancar. She had hazel eyes and short green hair. Her eyes were incredibly wide, the canines on her lower jaw were larger than usual, and the remains of her Hollow mask made up a cartoon-like skull which sat on the top of her head. A crack ran along the left side of the mask and four teeth on the left side of the skull were broken off. She had a large scar coming down from her forehead to her nose and a crimson line that stretched horizontally across her face below her eyes. Her clothing consisted of a simple green gown with a hood which covered her entire body.

"A mask?" Ichigo asked as he put his sheath back onto his back and lifted his foot of the Hollow he had been stepping on, "You're... a Hollow?"

Ishida deactivated his bow as Chad let go of the eel Hollow and they all scrambled over to Nel and tried to hide behind her.

"We thought you were trying to hurt her." Ichigo explained to the Hollow and in response they all bowed to them.

"I'm so so so sowwy." Nel said, "Nel never thought our game of 'eternal tag' would make people think da wong thing."

"Endless game of tag?" Ichigo asked blankly.

"Yuh huh, 'cuz there's nothin' fun to do in Hueco Mundo, see?" Nel explained as she rubbed the back of her head.

"Tag? But weren't you crying?" Ichigo asked somewhat curiously.

"Yep! Nel's a sewious maso-kiss, so it's no fun if I don't cry a lil'!" Nel said happily.

"What the hell are you teaching this kid?" Ichigo asked furiously after hitting the dumpy Arrancar in the back of the head.

"Is Nel your name?" Ishida asked the child Arrancar.

"Yeah! I'm the Arrancar Nel Tu."

"Arrancar?" Ichigo questioned.

"Yuh-huh" Nel beamed and then signalled to her fellow Arrancar, "And dey is..."

"I'm Nel's brother, Pesche." The purple humanoid Arrancar spoke up.

"And I'm Nel's brother, Dondo Chakka, don'tcha know." The dumpy Hollow chimed in.

Nel then pointed to the eel and said, "And in da back, here's our pet, Bawabawa."

"Wait a minute." Ichigo asked, "Arrancar's have family and pets?"

"You meanie!" Nel said offended, "Of course we do!"

"I met her by chance and she was so cute that I decided to become her brother, don'tcha knows." Dondo said.

"Same here." Pesche admitted and Nel chuckled happily.

"But that means you're not siblings at all." Ichigo informed them.

Seeing their horrified looks at that statement made Ichigo regret saying it and he quickly backtracked, "I mean, never mind. My mistake. You guys can be siblings."

Ichigo then bent down to get a closer look at Nel and asked her, "So are you really an Arrancar?"

"Whatcha talkin' about?" Nel asked and then pointed at her mask, "Can'tcha sees my awesome bwoken mask?"

"Yeah, I see it." Ichigo said, "But you're totally different to the ones who came to the real world."

"The ones who went to the real world were all Números." Nel told him.

"Números?" Ichigo asked.

"Números are da guys who were even more powerful than Menos Grande before dey turned inta Arrancar. They get two digit numbers and work directly for the Espada. Números are combat experts. Comparing lil' bugs like Nel and her buddies with dem is like comparing the stars wit dirt."

"Little bugs?" Ichigo wondered.

Nel pointed at him, "Actually with the way you guys keep askin' us stuff, and those clothes, you guys don't look anythin' like Arrancar! You don't have a mask and you're wearin' a black kimono. You look kinda like a shi-."

Nel broke of suddenly as all three Arrancar froze as realisation set in and Nel asked Ichigo hesitatingly, "What's your job?"

With his hands on hips, he answered, "I'm Kurosaki Ichigo, Substitute Shinigami."

Pressing his glasses further to his eyes, Ishida said, "I'm Ishida Uryu, a Quincy."

"I'm Sado Yasutora, a human." Chad introduced.

All three Arrancar screamed in horror much to the annoyance of Ichigo and co, before all together, the three Arrancar pointed at them and said in unison; "Da three of them... are bad guys!"

"You didn't know what we were?" Ichigo asked blankly.

"Y-Y-You never told us!" Nel protested before her hands grabbed her head as she shouted hysterically, "Oh no! D-D-Dey're gonna kill us!"

All three of them sweat dropped at the scene and Ichigo told Nel, "Uh... no, we're not gonna kill you."

"Boy, these Arrancar are nuts." Ishida commented.

"I never thought that there'd be Arrancar like them." Chad mused.

Suddenly the three Arrancar formed a huddle and talked in low volumes, so that Ichigo, Ishida and Chad couldn't hear them. It didn't take long for the huddle to break and Nel asked Ichigo;

"Mr. Shinigami, since you aren't a bad guy, will you pway with us?"

"Huh?"

"Here I go!" Nel shouted as she jumped onto a surprised Ichigo's shoulder and grabbed his sheathed Zanpakutō. Nel then jumped back onto the sand and began to run off with Ichigo's Zanpakutō.

"Come on! We're pwaying 'eternal tag'!" Nel shouted.

"Hey you!" Ichigo shouted back shocked.

"Catch me and beat me up!" Nel laughed loudly.

"Why you little..." Ichigo growled before chasing after her.

"Okay let's go!" Pesche said as both Dondo and he chased after Ichigo.

"What are you guys doing?" Ichigo yelled at them as he ran after Nel.

Pesche yelled back, "This is 'eternal tag', silly."

"This is how you play, don'tcha knows?" Dondo shouted.

"Boy, she sure managed to steal Kurosaki's Zanpakutō from his pretty easily." Ishida noted as he and Chad looked on in amusement.

"Did he actually agree to play eternal tag?" Chad asked but suddenly they heard a roar from behind them and they spun around to see Bawabawa appear behind them and began chasing them.

"Why us, too?" Ishida complained as he tried to avoid getting trampled by Bawabawa.

"I'd like to know myself." Chad agreed.

"Another three have joined in the game, don'tcha knows!" Dondo yelled with both his arms forwards as he ran.

"That's great!" Pesche said, "Let's have even more people join up! The more people participate, the more fun it gets! Just like with rock-paper-scissors!"

"Rock-paper-scissors doesn't get any more fun when you have multiple players! And the same goes for this!" Ichigo retorted loudly.

Unfortunately for Nel, she had been running with her eyes closed, so she didn't see that quartz long on the ground and tripped over it. She landed face first into the sand and Ichigo glanced behind him to see the two Arrancar were gaining speed, so he knew that they hadn't seen Nel fall over. He jumped over the log and grabbed a startled Nel and utilized Shunpo in order to avoid the two Arrancar who also tripped on the log.

They landed face first in the same place Nel had fallen, and both Ishida and Chad saw this and simultaneously jumped over the log and bounced off them. Bawabawa decided to do the same but instead of bouncing off them; he just crashed into them sending a large wave of sand into the air.

"That was close." Ichigo said as he held Nel in hands before he put her down and asked her, "Hey, can you stand?"

"Did you save me?" Nel asked in awe.

"Of course I did." Ichigo answered as he brushed the sand off her green cloak, "You would've been squashed if all of them had fallen on top of you. You aren't hurt are you?"

"Nope" Nel said timidly.

"I see. That's good." Ichigo told her as he picked up his Zanpakutō and put it on his back before standing up. "We're in a hurry, so you try to stay out of trouble. Later."

Ichigo walked towards Ishida and Chad as Nel looked on in wonder at the nice Shinigami and then she shouted, "A-Are you running away?"

"Huh?" Ichigo let out as he turned towards her slightly.

"Are you just gonna run away?" She repeated.

"Huh?" Ichigo asked even more confused and told her, "Look, sorry but I'm in a hurry. I don't have time to play games with you."

Tears filled Nel's eyes before she burst out crying and yelled, "Meanie! I wanna play some more! I'd wather die den stop now!"

"Then I shall grant you the death that you seek!" A loud and deep voice spoke up suddenly much to Ichigo and his nakama's confusion. The ground beneath them began shaking and the sand began to take form of a Hollow.

He had a large, grey body and was made from sand. His arms were long, with the forearms being much thicker than his upper arms. His head resembled a sand castle, while his Hollow hole was in the centre of his chest. He wore a low-slung cloth around his waist and decorated bracelets on both wrists.

"The hell is that?" Ichigo asked.

Nel looked at the large hollow with a horrified look on her face and told him fearfully, "That is the guardian of the White Sand, Runuganga –sama!"

"I just received word that there are invaders heading towards Los Noches." Runuganga said menacingly and focused his attention on the other Hollow, "But to think that worms like you would work together with them. Unforgivable! I shall turn the lot of you into desert sand!"

With tears in her eyes, Nel protested, "Oh no, we weren't really..."

"Run, he is not here to play." Ichigo told Nel as he stepped in front of her, shielding her from the sand Hollow. He withdrew his Zanpakutō from his sheath and activated his Shikai form.

"Here, eat this!" Ichigo said calmly as he gave his Zanpakutō a bored upwards swing and launched the wordless crescent wave of blue Reiatsu at the giant Hollow. He smirked when he saw the wave slash through its head and split in half and cockily rested his blade on his right shoulder.

"So quick!" Nel yelled, "Dat was a cheap shot! He's a cheater!"

"He's a bad guy!" All three of them accused Ichigo much to his annoyance.

"Shut up" Ichigo snapped, "Besides why do you care? I just saved you, didn't I? And I attacked him from the front so it wasn't a cheap shot."

"Kurosaki!" Ishida yelled as he saw the hollow reforming.

"He's coming back." Chad warned him.

"What?" Ichigo asked and he looked back towards the enemy and indeed he saw that its head was stitching itself back together.

"You don't even acknowledge striking an unfair blow?" Runuganga said with disgust, "You're becoming more despicable by the moment!"

"That was not a cheap shot, damn it!" Ichigo yelled, "And why did you have to regenerate?!" He looked back at Nel while pointing at Runuganga, "What is this thing?!"

"Can'tcha tells? Runuganga-sama is made of sand." Nel said simply.

Ichigo scowled, "Ishida you got any water attacks?!"

Ishida scoffed at the question, "Of course I don't Kurosaki!"

"Me neither." Chad told him before he could ask.

Ichigo turned back to the hollow behind him, "Can any of you?" He asked hopefully.

They shook their heads and Ichigo sighed, "Great, it looks like we're going to have fight him the hard way."

"Tsugi no mai, Hakuren!" A voice shouted from the distance and Runuganga couldn't react in time as he was suddenly engulfed in a large wave of ice. The frozen Runuganga toppled over and shattered into pieces once it hit the ground, killing Runuganga instantly.

They all spun around to the direction the ice attack and Ichigo's eyes widened when he saw two familiar Shinigami both wearing a cream coloured cloak.

"Rukia... Renji." Ichigo acknowledged with a grin as he jogged over to his two Shinigami friends after deactivating his Shikai. However when he got close to them, he was met with a fist into the face courtesy of Rukia and Renji immediately followed up with another sending Ichigo into the sand.

"What the fuck was that for?!" Ichigo roared as he sat up.

"You ingrate!" Rukia shouted back, "Why did you charge recklessly into Hueco Mundo like this?! Why didn't you at least wait for us to return?!"

Ichigo gave her a blank look, "How was I supposed to know that you were going to make it back?"

Rukia glared at him and snarled, "Of course we were going to! No matter what we had to! I and Renji too, intended that from the very beginning! Why didn't you just wait...! Why didn't you... believe in us...! Aren't we your friends Ichigo?"

"Ah... that's right." Ichigo answered guiltily.

"Hmm... so it did make you understand after all." Rukia stated before giving him an annoyed look, "But I don't ever want to say that kinda thing ever again."

Ichigo just grinned at her amused making her scoff and tell him impatiently, "Let's go! Don't just sit around like that, we have to save Inoue!"

Thanks to Nel's pet Hollow Bawabawa, who gave them a ride to Las Noches, it didn't take long for them to reach their destination. Ichigo got a kick out of the fact that Byakuya had instructed them to wear cloaks to protect them but his amusement was quickly diminished when Rukia told him why Byakuya let them go. Apparently Byakuya called him a filthy scamp; he would kick his ass when this was all over.

Of course Renji joined in the fun when Nel seemed suspicious of Rukia's relationship with Ichigo and Renji teased him about being a ladies' man.

However now they stood outside the formidable Las Noches, Rukia approached the wall and discovered, "This isn't made out of Sekkiseki."

"So that means that we can just bust our way through, correct?" Ichigo decided as he pulled out his Zanpakutō and said, "Let's go then Renji!"

Renji scoffed but withdrew his Zanpakutō nonetheless, "Since when do I have to approve of the crap you do!"

They both released their Shikai and simultaneously slashed through the wall creating an explosion of rock, cement and dust. Once it cleared up, it revealed a large gap in the wall and also a large dark corridor.

"What the heck did you jutht do?!" Nel yelled and pointed to the right, "If you were looking for the gate jutht ahead in that that direction for three dayth and you'll find it!"

"Dumbass! We aren't their friends!" Ichigo responded, "You think they would let us in so easily? Besides who has the time to walk around for three days?"

The group walked down the corridor and were able to find a sealed door thanks to Renji's poor attempt at using a Shakkahō as a flashlight. Ichigo didn't hesitate to cut the door down and they came across a large hall with 5 large doors.

"We have five paths to choose from." Ichigo acknowledged, he then turned to Nel, "Nel, it looks like we will really be parting here, the Reiatsu from here on out... you guys won't be able to tolerate it."

"We've got no choice but to start on one end and make our way through." Ishida said.

"Not quite." Rukia denied, "We will each choose a path."

"What?!" Ichigo said shocked, "We're up against the Espada! We can't afford to split up! We need to stick together, they aren't going to come after us and take us on one on one! It's more safer if we-."

He was suddenly cut off by Renji who stepped in front of him and told him sternly, "Enough already. Worrying about a warriors life on the battlefield... is only an insult."

"Moving together... huh?" Rukia asked, "No doubt this is because you're worried about me... That really isn't like you Ichigo. I didn't come here just to be protected by you."

Instead of acceptance appearing on Ichigo's face like she had expected after her speech, Ichigo wore a look of annoyance.

"Worried about you?!" He said incredulously, "Since when did I say that?! Didn't I tell you that all of your opinions would be rejected back in Soul Society?"

Rukia's eyes widened as she remembered those words but she wasn't able to argue as Ichigo continued, "We stormed into Soul Society but got separated and if it wasn't for Hanatarō and Yoruichi we never would have succeeded. We were lucky that most of Soul Society wanted us alive, but we won't get that luxury here, they will kill us if given the chance. It's only us; we have no backup, so we go together."

"While it's surprising that Kurosaki can use some logic." Ishida chimed in much to Ichigo's frustration, "However there is a factor that you seem to be forgetting Kurosaki and that is how much time we have to get Inoue?"

"Time?"

"With us gone and Soul Society retreating to fortify their defences, Karakura town is severely under protected and so Aizen could strike at any time. We have to get Inoue quickly and get back to Karakura."

Ichigo nodded, "You're right but if we go individually then we are going to get destroyed."

"Or you could put a little bit of faith in our abilities?" Rukia said annoyed.

"I've got plenty of confidence in everyone here, but I also know how powerful some of these Espada are since I've fought a couple. Can you and Renji say the same?"

Rukia frowned, the only fight she had against an Espada was a sneak attack on the weakest, so maybe Ichigo was correct.

"Let's hurry up and decide, we're running out of time." Renji told them.

"So what do you suggest Ishida?" Ichigo asked the Quincy.

Ishida's glasses flash and he smirked, "We split up into 3 groups."

"Why 3 groups?" Rukia asked curiously, she was willing to listen since Ichigo seemed very adamant on all of them sticking together.

Ishida explained, "With three groups, we can spread out and search quickly for Inoue but also cover for any enemy that confronts us."

"Except there are 5 of us Ishida." Chad spoke up, "How are we going to split into 3 even groups?"

"Simple, Sado-kun and I will be one group since we have worked together before." Ishida said but internally he thought, _'I can't partner up with the Shinigami, I'm already close to breaking my vow just by being in their presence.'_

Ishida continued out loud, "Now Kuchiki and Abarai, you've been friends for a long time correct?"

"Yes." They spoke simply in unison and Ishida nodded, "Okay then you two will go together and Kurosaki, you're on your own."

"What?" Ichigo asked annoyed, "Why am I on my own?"

Rukia, Renji and Chad all looked confused at Ishida.

"Kuchiki is unable to use Bankai, and Abarai has Bankai, so they can cover each other accordingly. The reason you're on your own is because Bankai isn't your highest level, you can go a step further. You don't need any of us to fight with you. You are able to handle this on your own."

Ichigo sighed, "Fine, then let's split up and find a path."

"Alright, but before we head off, let's do something for good luck!" Renji shouted.

"Good luck?" Ichigo asked.

"Yeah." Renji answered, "Before a serious battle, there is a ritual-like chant that we do in the Gotei 13. No one really uses it anymore but for some reason I thought it might be a good idea. Now all of you put out your hands!"

Ichigo looked at him dully and Renji yelled, "Don't give me that look, I don't like it either but just do it."

Ichigo sighed and walked towards him as they formed a small circle, Renji held out his hand and Chad place his on top. Ishida then added his and it was followed by Rukia and finally Ichigo.

"We are about to head into the battlefield!" Renji chanted, "Believe, our blades will not shatter. Believe, our souls will not be cut! Even if our steps separate, our iron wills remain solid! Promise, even if the ground may split, we will come back alive to this place!"

With that, the group separated, Ichigo ran down the middle corridor, whilst Ishida and Chad ran to the closest left of the centre passage and Renji and Rukia went through the closest right to the centre passage.

**Hōgyoku Chamber**

Aizen sat calmly in his seat, now that Kurosaki Ichigo and Kuchiki Rukia were here, the fun could begin. He smiled when he remembered Grimmjow's and Yammy's furious reaction when he informed all of the Espada who had infiltrated Hueco Mundo. Of course he put them in their place immediately and then told them all to stay in their rooms until they arrived in Las Noches. All but Aaroniero, and in private told him that he wanted him to confront Kuchiki Rukia and to kill her.

Now he waited for Orihime to arrive, he ordered Ulquiorra to bring her before him, and he withdrew the sleeping Hōgyoku, it was time to use her powers to awaken it.

The door opened and in walked Ulquiorra with Orihime walking timidly behind him.

"I've brought the woman as you requested." Ulquiorra said tonelessly.

Aizen smiled at his loyal Arrancar, "Thank you Ulquiorra, you may leave for now."

Ulquiorra gave a short bow and left the room, closing the door on his way out.

"I won't keep you Orihime, but I have a task for you and one that you will do willingly if you are care about your friends."

"What?"

Aizen walked towards her and stood in front of her and held out his hand that held the Hōgyoku.

"I know that you can sense that your friends that have arrived. You will use your powers to awaken it." Aizen ordered.

Orihime's eyes widened when she saw the small orb, the key to the upcoming war, if she destroyed it then it could turn the tables immensely.

"Don't even think about it Orihime." Aizen whispered dangerously, "Don't think that I don't know that you are the only one capable of destroying the Hōgyoku. But if you value the life of your friends then you will do nothing more than awakening it. You can destroy it now if you like, but I wouldn't just kill your friends, the ones that have come to rescue you but also the ones in your town. I will erase them from existence, they will never be re-incarnated, and they will just be gone. So destroy it if you like."

Orihime flinched at Aizen's words and even though she might save Karakura town, she could be responsible for her friend's existence to be erased. As she prepared to awaken the Hōgyoku, inspiration struck her mind.

"Sōten Kisshun, I reject." Orihime said as a barrier surrounded the Hōgyoku and Orihime willed it to awaken but also willed something extra.

Once the barrier collapsed, and Orihime's power receded, the formerly dull orb now shone just like his other indicating that it was awakened.

"You made the right choice." Aizen said, "You may go back to your room."

Orihime nodded and left the room but made sure that she kept the grin off her face in fear that he would somehow see.

Once she left the room, Aizen chuckled at last he had two fully awakened Hōgyoku's, now it was time for his to devour Urahara's and obtain the complete Hōgyoku.

**Ichigo...**

"You shouldn't have come, Nel." Ichigo sighed at the child Arrancar, he wasn't happy that she decided to follow him. It was far too dangerous for her and he wouldn't admit it, but he had become fond of her and didn't want her to get hurt. Of course she also freaked out when her brothers didn't follow the same path as her, however Ichigo was determined to get her out of here. Especially when he could sense an enemy close by and before Nel could reply, he said, "Whoever is there come out."

For the next few minutes, Ichigo and Nel had to endure the weird antics of the Arrancar that appeared however Ichigo and Nel did get some amusement when he tripped over.

"I am the #103 Arrancar, Dordoni Alessandro Del Socaccio." He announced, his face resembled a stereotypical portrayal of the Devil. He had black hair and blue eyes. His hair resembled a pair of 'horns' and he has a van-dyke beard and moustache. The remains of his Hollow mask consisted of a small plate on his forehead that has horns mirroring those in his hair. Dordoni's Arrancar outfit is customized to fit his eclectic personality, with fringes on the forearm portion of the sleeves, a poofy red sash tied at his waist, shoulder pads, and openings down the front which reveal his black undershirt.

"103?" Ichigo snorted and asked Nel, "I thought that the Arrancar only went up to double digit numbers?"

"So did I." Nel replied bluntly.

"This guy must be really weak." Ichigo smirked as he withdrew his katana from its sheath.

"I wouldn't be so sure, Niño." Dordoni whispered with a grin on his face and pulled out his sword before vanishing thanks to Sonido.

Ichigo's eyes widened when Dordoni was suddenly behind him and immediately he felt pain coming from his left shoulder as blood squirted out of a shallow cut.

**Rukia...**

Rukia grunted as she hit the floor after falling for what seemed like miles out of a shoot. Renji and she had been walking down the path when Dondo suddenly appeared behind them screaming for Nel. However they didn't get much further as a shaft opened up beneath them and they fell through and at some point during the fall, she and Renji were separated.

"So much for Ichigo's plan on 'sticking together', I may as well have gone on my own." Rukia grumbled as she got up and followed the new path that she was on. In only a few minutes she reached the end of the corridor and she was surprised by what she found when she exited it. Rukia found herself on a bridge and she was surrounded by daylight.

"What the hell?" Rukia muttered, "Artificial daylight?"

"That is correct."

Rukia spun around to see an Arrancar with an elongated white mask covered with eight holes. He wore a dress garb that covered his entire body as opposed to the normal jacket and hakama. He also wore a frilly nobles' coat that acted as his replacement jacket and a single white gentleman's glove.

Rukia placed a hand on the handle of her katana, preparing to defend herself when suddenly the Arrancar vanished, utilizing Sonido. He reappeared at the end of the bridge and told Rukia.

"Follow me." With that he opened the door and entered the room. Rukia frowned but ran over to the door and entered cautiously and once inside the door closed on its own. She looked up to see the Arrancar on the upper level.

"Sorry, but I really cannot stand the daylight." He said as he prepared to remove his mask, "Aizen installed it as a way to watch everyone; only in a room like this can he not see us."

With that, he pulled the helmet off and Rukia was shocked by the face that had been underneath the helmet.

**Ichigo...**

Ichigo crashed through a thick wall and fell into a large cubed shaped room and skidded along the ground with a smirk on his face.

'_That was a nice kick but still I should be able to fight him without having to release.'_ He thought before Dordoni sonidoed into the room standing only a few feet away from him.

"You won't beat me at this rate, Niño!" Dordoni informed him, "Unleash your Bankai!"

Ichigo scoffed, "Please, I don't need Bankai to beat you."

The Arrancar frowned, "Is that so?"

He held up his sword and whispered, "Whirl Giralda."

Dordoni exploded in grey Reiatsu and smoke covered his body and Ichigo's eyes widened slightly at the increase in Reiatsu but they widened further when the smoke cleared.

Dordoni now had large horns on his shoulders and armour that started at his feet, wraps around his calves, and juts out at his waist with two more spikes. His mask also extended, and was now framing his face.

Ichigo looked at him with wide eyes and thought, _'So this must have been what Grimmjow was talking about. This is a Resurrection. His Reiatsu has increased significantly but I don't understand why he is number 103 when his Reiatsu is higher than that Arrancar that Rukia killed with ease.'_

"I've released my Resurrection, now it's time for you to activate your Bankai, Niño."

Ichigo smirked, "No chance, I already told you, I don't need my Shikai to beat you let alone my Bankai."

Dordoni sighed, "Then I've got no choice but to force you!"

Suddenly two enormous cyclones came from exhaust spouts on the armour covering his legs and then two bird-like extensions jut out from the cyclones. With these spouted out, Dordoni now hovered in the air and then sent one of the cyclones at Ichigo but Ichigo only just evaded it with Shunpo.

He reappeared behind Dordoni and slashed at his back but to his shock, not only did Dordoni turn around in time but he also caught the blade with his bare hand. Dordoni grinned at the look on Ichigo's face and then delivered a kick into Ichigo's stomach causing him to cough up blood. The Arrancar felt the force of the blade pressing into his hand lessen due to the kick and then followed up by backhanding Ichigo in the face.

He let the blade go so that he didn't stop Ichigo crashing into the ground however instead of using this opportunity to end the fight instead he crossed his arms and waited for Ichigo to get back up. Ichigo scowled as he stood back up, and roughly wiped away the blood that flowed down his lip.

Dordoni chuckled at the look on Ichigo's face, "Didn't anyone ever tell you not to judge a book by its cover, Niño?"

Ichigo snarled, "I don't get it, if you're this strong, then why are you number 103?"

"The answer is relatively simple, I am known as one of the Privaron Espada, one of the fallen Espada."

"Privaron Espada?" Ichigo asked.

"Yes, I am a member of the original Espada, all those Arrancar that had 3 digit numbers are all ex-Espada."

Ichigo swore to himself, he didn't think that it was a possibility that this guy could have power close to the Espada.

"This is practically like fighting a baby!" Dordoni shouted, "I won't tolerate it! B-A-N-K-A-I! Get to it, Niño. I won't make fun of you for it. It's just no matter what you do in this state; you'll never come close to beating me."

"_Ichigo..."_ Zangetsu said in Ichigo's mind.

"_Yeah I know, Zangetsu."_ Ichigo admitted, _"But I had to try."_

"_Sometimes to rely on your own strength is necessary Ichigo."_ Zangetsu acknowledged, _"But this isn't the time for it."_

"_You're right."_ Ichigo agreed, _"But I refuse to go Bankai unless I have absolutely no choice!"_

"Very well Ichigo."

Ichigo then focused his attention back onto Dordoni and told him, "I don't feel like it."

"Why not?"

"A fallen Espada basically means that you aren't an Espada anymore right?" Ichigo asked.

"I suppose..." Dordoni said trailing off, curious as to where Ichigo was going with this.

"See the thing is, I'm going to have to kick all of the Espada's asses sooner or later... Having to use my Bankai for every little guy that isn't even an Espada... Would be a big pain in the ass!" Ichigo yelled as he shot towards Dordoni and thought, _'Stop the Rain, Zangetsu!'_

His katana shone white for a moment and changed shape into the cleaver and the cloth surrounding it fell away as Dordoni's eyes widened at the sudden change. He quickly swung his leg in order to guide one of his cyclones at Ichigo however Ichigo just smirked and unleashed a wordless Getsuga at it. The wave of blue Reiatsu cut through it like butter and followed up by continuing towards Dordoni who quickly avoided it by Sonido.

He reappeared a few metres from his former position and he quickly threw both arms above his head in a cross position in order to block the incoming slash from behind by Ichigo. The blade smashed against his arms and he flinched as he felt the blade begin to cut through his Hierro and desperately swung his right leg back. This caused one of his cyclones to hit Ichigo in his left side and sent him crashing into the wall.

Dordoni smirked when he saw that Ichigo was caught in between the cyclones beak and being pressed into the wall.

"You really shouldn't take me lightly. It's still not too late, Niño." Dordoni told him, "Use your Bankai!"

"Getsuga..." Ichigo whispered and Dordoni struggled to hear, "Tensho!"

The large blast of blue Reiatsu that erupted from Ichigo's blade and completely enveloped the cyclone and also Dordoni whom had been frozen in shock by the size of the attack. Ichigo dropped off the wall and landed on the floor calmly and looked in awe at the power of his attack. He just realised that this was the first time he had said the name of his attack since he got his complete Shikai. He didn't think his Getsuga had become that much more powerful but he was very much mistaken.

He grinned, he couldn't believe how strong he had become, that attack was so powerful and he didn't even break a sweat with it. He reckoned that he would be able to put up a good fight against Grimmjow's sealed form with his Shikai now.

"That was nice, Niño." Dordoni said as the smoke cleared and he had several noticeable scorches and bruises along with some small gashes. "But still not enough to defeat me."

Ichigo scoffed, "Then show me why you're so confident."

Dordoni quickly regenerated his two cyclones and once again lashed out a kick in thin air and sent a cyclone at Ichigo who just smirked and said cockily, "Seriously, that is not going to work on me anymore."

"Ave Mellizos!" Dordoni shouted and suddenly, Ichigo raised an eyebrow when 5 more cyclones burst out of the main cyclone and all headed for Ichigo.

"So it's just a bigger litter, no big deal." Ichigo said and swung his sword across his body, from right to left unleashing a large crescent wave of blue Reiatsu. "Getsuga Tensho!"

His Getsuga enveloped all of the cyclones and destroyed them all easily however he stiffened when he heard a voice behind him say, "You fell for it Niño."

Ichigo couldn't defend himself in time and was sent sailing through the air after being kicked hard in the ribs.

"I told you not to take me lightly." Dordoni reminded him as he held his two hands in front of his face, forming a pentagon with his index and pinkie fingers and then in the middle began forming a red Cero.

"This is your punishment for your stubbornness, Niño!" Dordoni shouted and launched the beam of Reiatsu at Ichigo.

'_This is going to sting a bit.'_ Ichigo thought in annoyance as he shielded himself the best he could while sailing back. However a feeling of astonishment and dread filled him when he saw Nel suddenly appear in front of him and took the Cero head on. The result was much different than what he had been expecting; somehow Nel had begun to swallow the Cero. In only a few seconds, she had swallowed the whole Cero causing Dordoni to yell out in horror, "You've got to be kidding me!"

Amazing Ichigo even further, Nel spat the Cero back out, this time it was pink in colour and twice the size of that Dordoni's had been. Dordoni was too shocked by the sudden change of events and was too late to dodge the Cero and was engulfed in it.

"D... Don't... do mean thingth... to... Itsygo." Nel panted heavily.

A small ball of red Reiatsu quickly shot out of the smoke towards an immobile Nel and smashed into her sending her into the ground painfully.

"Nel!" Ichigo shouted worriedly after he finally regained his balance, and his anger begun to skyrocket, attacking a child was unforgivable.

"I don't know what you are Bebé." Dordoni said as blood flowed freely over his right eye, "But that is really something, to be able to absorb and return my Cero whilst in my released state... However don't you think that is a bit too far to be mere mischief?"

He lashed out with one of his cyclones and attempted to crush Nel when it was suddenly cut in half by a flash of blue Reiatsu and Dordoni knew immediately Ichigo had fired a Getsuga. His assumption was correct as Ichigo suddenly appeared in the spot Nel had been with her in his left arm and he glared ferociously at Dordoni.

Instead of fearing his glare, Dordoni grew more excited as he had finally found an avenue to getting his opponent to use his Bankai.

"How dare you attack a child?!" Ichigo growled.

Dordoni just grinned and Ichigo looked down sadly at Nel in his arms and explained in an apologetic tone, "I'm sorry Nel, I let myself become cocky in this fight and because of that you got hurt. I told myself that when I come here, I would only use my full power against the Espada, both Shikai and Bankai. I also thought that by giving myself limits against weaker adversaries, that it would help prepare me for the battles ahead."

Ichigo smiled bitterly, "What a load of shit that was."

"I disagree, Niño." Dordoni told him, "Restraining yourself for the sake of battle, that's important for those who seek strength. I think it's a wonderful thing."

"No it isn't." Ichigo retorted as he finally understood just how pathetic he had been doing in this battle, "All I've accomplished is hurting my friend."

"Do you mean to say that strength is not your true goal?" Dordoni questioned, "If protecting your wish is your real wish, then having strength gives you the ability to do so? How kind of you, Niño. You're almost like a saint. However... you still aren't using your true power! Use your Bankai!"

He launched another cyclone directly at Ichigo and Nel but Ichigo calmly blocked it with Zangetsu and then swung it up slicing the cyclone in half with another Getsuga. He then felt movement to his right and he quickly blocked another cyclone and just as he prepared to destroy he saw something flash in the corner of his eye. To his shock, Dordoni was suddenly behind him positioning his hand over Nel and attempted to strike her while saying, "You have no choice but to unleash your Bankai!"

Ichigo reacted faster than he had ever thought possible in his Shikai in order to protect Nel, he cut through the cyclone and swung Zangetsu at Dordoni's hand as it closed in on Nel. Dordoni was forced to retreat and flew back a few metres as blood dripped down his fingers where Ichigo had slashed him. Also a small cut appeared on Nel's cheek and Ichigo noticed it which angered him further as he realised just how close she was to dying.

"Hmm? What's wrong? Did I anger you, Niño?" Dordoni asked.

"You bastard!" Ichigo snarled tightening his grip on Nel protectively.

"What is there to be angry about? If your objective is to 'protect your friends' and my objective is to 'defeat you at full strength', then what I'm going to aim for is not you, but that little Bebé. Nothing more." Dordoni explained.

Ichigo scowled, "You really have no shame do you?!"

"Of course I have shame!" Dordoni roared, "But what I'm really ashamed of is not being able to fight you at your full strength! Compared to this, all other shames are nothing, Niño."

Ichigo looked at him silently for a moment, and he finally understood, the only thing this Arrancar wanted was the chance to fight him at full strength. He had been asking for it the entire time they had been fighting and eventually had to sink low enough to hurt a child just to get him to go Bankai. Yes this guy had hurt his friend, but he was just as responsible.

"Alright then." Ichigo said and he turned his back on him and put Nel on the ground and told her, "Nel I need you to step back a bit."

Nel walked slowly away until she was a few metres away from him and he told her, "That's far enough."

"Itsygo?" Nel murmured worried however he gave her a reassuring smile and told her, "It's alright, I won't let a sliver of Reiatsu get past me."

Ichigo then turned back to Dordoni and told him seriously, "Sorry but you will only get to watch this for an instant."

"That is more than enough." Dordoni told him seriously, not letting his excitement show.

"Is that so?" Ichigo said, "I guess that's good then."

He pointed Zangetsu at Dordoni and placed his left hand on his right forearm and Reiatsu began to surround him before he shouted, "Bankai!"

Dordoni laughed in excitement when the Reiatsu cleared revealing Ichigo in his Bankai and shouted, "Amazing! What amazing Reiatsu! To think that I am fighting an enemy this amazing! My mind is filled with a thousand emotions, Niño! Now with my full power as well... We'll be able to drink this all in together, won't we? Niño!"

However he was cut off when suddenly his left shoulder down to his left hip suddenly erupted with blood thanks to a wordless Getsuga Tensho that was too fast for him to follow.

"What... the... hell?" Dordoni gasped as he looked down at his sudden wounds and then looked back up at Ichigo who was back to his Shikai form.

"I told you that you would only see it for an instant." Ichigo told him solemnly.

"To my chagrin." Dordoni muttered as he collapsed face first onto the ground and lost consciousness and his resurrection also collapsed.

'_I knew it all along. That once they obtained the Hōgyoku that all previous Espada would become obsolete. I should have simply accepted it from the start and kept my place beneath Aizen-dono. However...'_

Dordoni's eyes shot opened when he felt something wet splash on his face and the first thing he saw was Nel leaning over him with her mouth wide open.

"AHHH!" He shouted and sat up sharply and backed away, "What the hell are you doing?!"

"Drooling on you." Nel said simply.

"I can see that just by looking! But I'm asking why the hell you are doing that?" Dordoni questioned hysterically.

"Shut up already." Ichigo said annoyed as he rested Zangetsu on his shoulder, "What are you getting all worked up about Don Paneeni?"

"It's Dordoni!"

Ichigo ignored him and knelt down next to Nel and patted her head, "It may be weak, but her drool possesses some latent healing powers, right Nel?"

"Yep." Nel said and then proceeded to show Dordoni just how she got all of her drool released and that was by reaching into her mouth and squeezing her Uvula causing her to vomit. Dordoni began to argue saying that it wasn't drool but vomit but Nel disagreed and tried to put some on the protesting Dordoni.

A few minutes later, and their argument died down, Dordoni lay on his back and told Ichigo, "Complete and utter defeat. In a way it was refreshing. My body was filled with power and my heart was filled with the will to win. Whenever or however you attacked, I was confident that I could easily return the strike. I wasn't dropping my guard. I was just... blind. You're strong, Niño."

"Not really." Ichigo shrugged.

"I wanted to return to the Espada." Dordoni informed him, "The Espada is Aizen's loyal servants and Aizen probably thinks of them as nothing more than tools of war. I know that but once you've stood at the top, you can never forget the view. That place was indescribably comfortable. I thought that if I beat you at full power Aizen would once again notice me and I might be able to return to the Espada. That is why I urged you to use your Bankai and my feelings now..."

He suddenly shot up and grabbed his sword and skidded back a few metres gaining some distance, "... Haven't changed one bit!"

Ichigo's eyes widened and Dordoni continued, "Why are you surprised? Healing the wounds of an enemy whose circumstances you don't even know means that you're prepared for a counter attack! Am I wrong?"

"Stop!" Ichigo shouted, "Your wounds haven't healed enough to be moving around like that!"

"Injuries are in the mind, Niño. If the will to fight is healed, then injuries to the body are of no consequence." Dordoni shouted as he withdrew his sword from his sheath and charged towards Ichigo.

Ichigo quickly grabbed Nel and shunpoed past Dordoni but in the process; he swung Zangetsu into Dordoni's blade and shattered it. Deeming that with a broken sword, he was no threat, Ichigo took off down the hall to resume his mission of rescuing Inoue.

However what Ichigo didn't know was that Dordoni only attacked him again was so he could escape the incoming Exequias. Unfortunately for him he was unable to defeat them since he was so weak from his fight with Ichigo and before he died, his final thoughts were;

'_Those who dwell here are like me and have no naivety. Do not hesitate to cut your foe. Do not think twice about dealing the final blow. And do not even think about healing the enemy's wounds. Leave the chocolate here. Become a demon, Niño. Become strong like a demon. Become crafty like a demon. You must realize that there is no way to withstand ruthlessness other than by becoming ruthless. If you don't Niño… Then all those you wish to protect will be destroyed._'

He had no idea just how ruthless Ichigo could and would be in the upcoming war.

**Rukia...**

'_Dammit'_ Rukia swore mentally as she felt her life beginning to fade away due to her former mentor and friend's Zanpakutō, Nejibana piercing her stomach. The 9th Espada, Aaroniero had absorbed 33,650 Hollow and one of those included the one that had taken over her friend Shiba Kaien. He had gained the ability to impersonate his abilities, memories and appearance and because of the lingering guilt she had, she almost allowed him to kill her. Of course at the time, she thought he was the real Kaien, but the moment he asked her to kill her friends in order for him to forgive her for killing him, she knew he was a fake.

This was the first fight that Rukia had fought with anger powering her, and she was able to get in some good hits. Unfortunately for her, since he had Kaien's memories, he knew her fighting style and it made it hard for her to get any advantage. Thankfully, with a well placed Kido combo, she was able to get the light to hit the room and it revealed the Espada's true face. He had a large, glass cylindrical capsule filled with red liquid and two small, floating Hollow heads. Seeing that she was able to fully commit to the battle now that she was sure that he was an imposter and fought with new focus. However it didn't last long before, the Espada unleashed his resurrection his lower body turned into a huge, purple blob-like mass resembling an incredibly bloated invertebrate, with dozens of stubby tentacles and large mouths complete with teeth all their own. Despite this, no matter how hard she tried to tell herself that this wasn't Kaien, she couldn't fight against his face, she couldn't bare to look into face as she killed him again.

Not long after he had unleashed this, did Rukia find herself in this predicament. He had been able to stab her through the stomach and was now holding him over her as she struggled to remain conscious.

However just as she was about to give in and embrace death, Kaien's words floated through her mind; '_Whenever you fight from this point on, there is one thing that you must never do. And that is to die alone. Our bodies are composed entirely from Reishi. If we die, our bodies will disintegrate and become part of the Reishi that makes up Soul Society. And when that time comes, where will your heart go? Your heart will be passed on to your friends. If you pass it on to your friends, then your heart will always live on within them. Kuchiki, that's why you must never, ever, ever die alone.'_

Some light returned to Rukia's eyes as she remembered, this wasn't Kaien, no matter what he looked like, because he had entrusted his heart to her. Despite that knowledge, she still couldn't gather the strength to fight back.

"_You have all the strength you need Rukia."_ A familiar voice whispered into her ear and she knew that it was Sode no Shirayuki. She could feel the cold breath on her ear but when she looked in that direction she couldn't see her Zanpakutō spirit.

"_Do you remember the promise you made me Rukia?"_ Sode no Shirayuki asked.

'_I will move past my guilt and be the partner you deserve. I will give you plenty of those freezing days.'_

"_Yes I remember."_ Rukia whispered.

"_You have the power hidden within you Rukia; all you need is the resolve. Think! Deep down you know what it is! Why do you want to get stronger?"_

Rukia tried focusing on why wanted to get stronger, and the answer was obvious.

"_I want to protect my friends."_

"_Wrong!"_ Sode no Shirayuki shouted, _"That's just one of your desires! All those that have friends they deeply care about want to protect them! You're resolve isn't that! Now think harder! You're running out of time!"_

Rukia thought as hard as she could but the only reason she could come with other than to protect her friends was to gain Byakuya's acknowledgment. However she already had that now, after her failed execution, Byakuya acted a lot more like a brother to her.

Rukia sighed; she knew why she fought; to protect her friends. But she didn't know why she trained to get stronger. Just as she was about to give up a memory popped up;

"_Kuchiki is unable to use Bankai, and Abarai has Bankai, so they can cover each other accordingly. The reason you're on your own is because Bankai isn't your highest level, you can go a step further. You don't need any of us to fight with you. You are able to handle this on your own."_

'_Why am I remembering this?'_ Rukia thought confused and another memory pooped up.

It was back when she had first given Ichigo her powers and she remembered all of the Hollows they had fought and defeated together.

'_I don't understand why I am watching these memories.'_

The next memory that she saw was another recent one.

_"Rukia, can you go Bankai?" He asked staring down Grimmjow and she shook her head in response, "I see, then you better leave and go help Renji"_

_"What! I can't just-..."_

_"Rukia" Ichigo commanded instantly shutting her up, "Don't allow your pride or concerns for me cloud your judgement, you know that this guy is on a whole different level."_

Helpless. That is what she had felt when she was forced to leave Ichigo there to fight the 6th Espada all by himself. Now she was beginning to understand. Ever since Ichigo had saved her from being executed, she realised that he didn't need her help anymore. He had long ago surpassed her and now all those times that they teamed up to win were all just a memory.

Rukia was nothing more than a burden to Ichigo, and she had a suspicion that Ishida, Chad, Renji and Inoue all felt that way to. With the enemies that Ichigo now had to fight, they couldn't compete with that.

Rukia's eyes were wide open now, she didn't like being useless to him. He was the one that saved her figuratively and literally, it was thanks to him that she had got the spark back onto her life. She wanted to fight alongside him, for him to be able to trust her to help him fight any opponent.

That was her resolve; she wanted to get strong enough to help Ichigo!

Inside her inner world, Sode no Shirayuki smiled and she could feel that extra wall of ice at the back of the tunnel that was related to Ichigo begin to crack.

"_Now Rukia, it's time for you to show everyone how strong you truly are."_

The ice shattered and Reiatsu flowed through Rukia's body and he once fading eyes shot wide awake and she grabbed the Zanpakutō that was stabbing into her and glared at the Kaien imposter.

"No more." She whispered fiercely, "I'm not going to be a burden anymore!"

"You're far too weak to stop me Kuchiki!" Aaroniero said smugly.

Rukia screamed as her body exploded with white Reiatsu much to Aaroniero's shock and raised her broken sword above her and swung it down against the sword piercing her. It broke in half further astonishing Aaroniero and she fell to the ground and landed in a crouching position. She grimaced still feeling the pain in her stomach where the blade was still lodged but immediately pointed her broken sword towards the floor.

"San no mai, Shirafune!"

Her broken sword suddenly repaired itself as ice formed where the tip previously used to locate before connecting back with the broken edge. With the tip connecting to the ground, Rukia whispered, "Juhaku"

Ice materialized on the floor from the area the tip of the new blade and shot towards the large body of Aaroniero and began freezing the tentacles.

"Dammit what the hell?!" The enraged Espada shouted as he unsuccessfully tried to break out of the ice, "Why can't I break this ice, your ice is nowhere near strong enough to contain me!"

"Shut up!" Rukia growled painfully, she was losing Reiatsu fast, she had to end this now, "You're pathetic, if that sword in your hands was the real Nejibana then there would be no way I would have been able to break it. Let me show you the true power of my new dance."

Rukia pointed her blade towards Aaroniero's face and he laughed mockingly at her despite not being able to break the ice.

"The only thing that pathetic dance does is repair your broken sword."

Rukia smirked, "That is where you're wrong. San no mai, Shirafune!"

Aaroniero's eyes widened as he felt a sword suddenly pierce through his head and he yelled out in pain before his bodies exploded and the tank containing his two Hollow heads shattered. One of the heads had the long extended blade of Sode no Shirayuki piercing him while the other creamed in pain begging Aizen to help him but in only moments did it stop and die.

Rukia panted heavily as she collapsed to her knees and told the corpse of Aaroniero, "Thanks to all of the water that you unleashed throughout the fight along with the ice attacks I used, it created a very cold atmosphere in this room. The third dance gathers the moisture in the air to repair the blade, and thanks to the cold atmosphere, I was able to create a long blade."

With that, she used the last of her Reiatsu to freeze her wound in order to preserve her life before finally falling unconscious.

Sode no Shirayuki smiled proudly in Rukia's inner world, thanks to her wielder finding her resolve, she was able to break the ice and gained a large boost of Reiatsu. When Ichigo gave her his power to save her from being possessed by those two hollow, Rukia received a large portion of Reiatsu but it was sealed deep inside of her. Rukia had a Fuku-Taicho level Reiatsu, but with her unlocking the power Ichigo gave her, it would rise to at least low level Taicho. Of course, Sode no Shirayuki would have to reseal the power again when Rukia was healed until this war was over. Rukia's greatest strength was her Reiatsu control, so this sudden increase Reiatsu would be more a disadvantage then an advantage.

**Hōgyoku chamber...**

Aizen smiled when he saw Rukia collapse on the large screen, he could sense that she was still alive so this was the perfect opportunity to see if his experiment could truly be done. He turned the screen off as he could sense his guest was about to enter. Seconds later, Orihime entered the room again, the second time today and Aizen smiled at her.

"Apologies for recalling you so soon, but there is something I want you to see." Aizen told her and turned the screen back on and Orihime's widened when she saw Rukia's condition.

"Kuchiki –san." Orihime whispered worriedly, she already sensed her Reiatsu decrease rapidly, but she was still alive.

"How would you like to save her?" Aizen asked her.

"What?"

He pulled out the Hōgyoku and grabbed a startled and worried Orihime by the shoulder and whispered, "Let's go heal your friend shall we?"

They suddenly disappeared from the room thanks to Aizen's Shunpo.

It felt like only a few seconds before Orihime was standing above the injured Rukia and now that she was close up, she could sense just how close Rukia was to dying.

"Now you will wait until I tell you to heal her, if you try before I say, then she dies." Aizen told her sending shivers down her spine.

"Yes." Orihime said.

Aizen bent down and pulled the sword of her hands and instead replaced it with a full awakened and completed Hōgyoku. Orihime looked confused and Aizen instructed her, "Alright, Orihime, heal her."

"Sōten Kisshun"

The barrier formed around Rukia and began to heal her wounds, the blade that was stuck in her stomach disintegrated as Aizen watched on with supreme interest. To Orihime's concern, the Hōgyoku suddenly began to glow fiercely and suddenly without warning, her shield expanded a few metres and her eyes widened when two bodies began to form much to Aizen's excitement.

Orihime attempted to cancel her ability, fearful of what was happening, but somehow, the Hōgyoku had taken control of her healing technique. It took 5 minutes, before the Hōgyoku stopped glowing and Orihime regained control of her healing technique and immediately cancelled it. Aizen walked over to the healed but still unconscious Rukia and removed the Hōgyoku from her hand and then looked at the other two figures on the floor.

He smiled at the sight, yes his experiment did work; the Hōgyoku's power was truly amazing.

"What happened?" Orihime asked timidly.

"I've got no more use for you Orihime, leave with your friends if you wish." Aizen said and began to walk away but just before he was leave he told her, "As for what you did, not only is Kuchiki Rukia healed but you also brought Shiba Kaien and his wife Shiba Miyako back to life."

**You like it, Review it. Don't like it, don't read it. See areas that need improvement, Review it and tell me.**

**The ending is a bit of a controversy isn't it?**

**Funnily enough, when beginning to write this fic, the first thing I came with was a way to bring Kaien and his wife back and I thought of a plausible solution. So bear with me until Aizen explains eventually how it was possible. If you believe you've worked out how, then by all means tell me in a review and I'll tell you if you're right or not.**

**Now for Ishida's new bow, the name is pretty lame I know, but I'm still trying to come up with a better name, so if anyone has a suggestion then please tell me.**

**Next Chapter: **

**Ichigo vs. Grimmjow!**

**Ishida and Chad Tag Team**

**Rukia and Kaien reunion**

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**Finally Kubo, you have finally revealed a Lighting type Bankai, it's a shame that we didn't see** **Sasakibe use it but hey it was still pretty cool.**

**Yamamoto is pissed! He has been awesome in the last two chapters.**

**It looks like Byakuya might be dead... Wow... Didn't see that coming this early but it does make some sense to kill of Byakuya. He is a pretty well developed character, perhaps his development is complete, but with his death, it enables Rukia and Renji to grow more.**

**Even Kenpachi has lost, wow, this arc is pretty epic!**

**Who is the one that killed Kirge? I hope that it was Grimmjow!**

**Now to Ichigo and his lack of Hollow mask, this is my theory on why he doesn't use it. His hollow and Zangetsu merged into one being, so with the Shinigami giving Ichigo's Shinigami powers a jumpstart, his hollow powers are still dormant. This would also explain why we haven't seen a reunion with Zangetsu and why the Quincy can't steal his Bankai. Since his hollow and Zangetsu merged, they can only reappear when he awakens his Hollow powers, he needs both Shinigami and Hollow powers in order to see them again. However he is able to draw his Shinigami powers from Zangetsu the same way he could summon his Hollow's after he subdued him. When the Quincy steals a Bankai, they must steal the Zanpakutō's Bankai spirit. So since Zangetsu is dormant they are unable to steal him. For Ichigo to awaken his Hollow powers, he needs to fall into despair and with him being trapped in that cage and hearing everyone dying, it might trigger it.**


	10. Reunion

**Disclaimer: I Don't Own Bleach**

**Chapter 10 – Reunion**

"I am sorry, Gantenbainne."Chad said within a large column of smoke to his opponents shock. The human's opponent was the 107th Privaron Espada by the name. He had brown eyes and a big burnt orange afro-style haircut with thick sideburns and a goatee. The remains of his Hollow mask were a sunglasses-shaped plate on his forehead with four teeth coming out above each eye. There is a star in the centre of the mask fragment, which allows Gantenbainne to see when he pulls the plate down over his eyes. Gantenbainne's arms were covered in dome-shaped, armour plating, while his hands resembled dragon heads. Similar plates also extended down his back until they terminate in the form a tail, giving him an appearance reminiscent of an armadillo.

"It seems, there is something that I have failed to tell you." Chad continued as the smoke began to clear, "This is certainly the true form of my right arm... and the soul of my Abuelo flows through this right arm. The thing my Abuelo taught me was to use my power to protect... Since the time I obtained my powers, the thing that had flowed through my right arm was the power to defend."

The smoke cleared and Chad had his Brazo Derecha de Gigante activated into its shield state and he had it covering his body, hiding his left arm from view. Gantenbainne's eyes widened when he saw that Chad hadn't taken any damage from his most powerful attack, the human had completely blocked his Rugir der Dragon*.

"Before I obtained my powers, all of my efforts were to use my strength to protect, to uphold my Abuelo's teachings and in order to do that I never hit back. I only defended myself and those that I was protecting. However my best friend, Ichigo, taught me that sometimes in order to protect those I care for, that I had to attack. And through this fight, I was able to find inside myself the power to attack. The name of my will to attack is Brazo Izquierda del Diablo*." Chad explained as he moved his Brazo Derecha de Gigante so the orange afro-haired Arrancar could see his new arm.

Gantenbainne could only look on in awe and shock, and saw that his left arm had been covered by a similar liquid that formed into armour just like his right arm. The arm was white, with a red stripe running down the length of the centre. His fingertips had red diamond shaped marks on them. A spike protruded from the shoulder and two more resembling claws extended over his chest.

However to Chad's slight surprise, Gantenbainne started laughing and shouted, "Diablo is... One hell of an exaggerated name if you ask me! Isn't that right? Yasutora Sado!"

Just as the Arrancar charged up his Rugir der Dragon, he failed to notice Chad's Reiatsu crackle on each fingertip on his Brazo Izquierda del Diablo before he formed his hand into a fist. Gantenbainne launched the large orange beam of Reiatsu in the shape of a Dragon's head at Chad but to his shock, Chad suddenly vanished and reappeared right in front of him. The Arrancar's attack exploded into a wall and Chad whispered, "Didn't you say there wasn't a way that a human technique could hit you because of your Sonido?"

'_There's no way the techniques of a Human who can't even use Sonido could ever reach me!'_

He did say something like that he remembered, back when he had control of this fight. However he wasn't able to react in time as Chad whispered, "La Muerte*"

His left fist, sparkling with electric like Reiatsu smashed into the Arrancar's stomach causing him to cough up blood and using his right arm, Chad back handed him. Gantenbainne was sent head first into the wall and crashed through it before landing heavily on the sand. Chad walked through the hole calmly and looked down at his opponent whom had reverted back to his original form.

"I was finally able to grasp my power. And it is all thanks to you fighting me at full strength, Gantenbainne." Chad said as he kneeled down to him, "Thank you. I can fight on past this point all thanks to you. I will spare your life and pray for your good fortune."

He stood back up; he had to go find Ishida after they were forced to split when they had reached a fork in their path. It was then he noticed how light it was and he quickly glanced around his surroundings, and saw that it was day time.

"Artificial light." A voice said causing Chad to turn back and he saw Ishida walking through the hole he had just made. The Quincy didn't have many wounds, nor were his clothes in terrible condition indicating that he didn't have a tough fight.

"It seems that the path we took was nothing more than a roundabout." Ishida informed him as he approached his tall friend.

"Did you encounter anyone?" Chad asked.

"An Arrancar by the name of Sanderwicci Cirucci, she was number 105." Ishida told him before glancing at Chad's downed opponent, "I take it you didn't kill your opponent either."

"No, didn't you?"

Ishida shook his head and pushed his glasses up, "No but I pierced her Saketsu, so she will no longer have the power to battle again."

Suddenly, Gantenbainne woke up due to sensing a large Reiatsu approach and his eyes widened when he saw who it was and tried to warn Chad, "... Ru... Run... Away."

He caught their attention when suddenly; another Arrancar appeared before them in a burst of Sonido. He dwarfed Chad by half a foot and he had a very thin and lanky body. His face was set in a huge smile which revealed his upper teeth, similar to Shinji's but they were larger. His black hair hung past his shoulders, concealing the left side of his face and a large white eye patch with one exposed dark gray eye. His clothing consisted of a modified Arrancar jacket with an overblown spoon-like hood and an opening starting at the neckline, showing most of his midsection, and closing at his waist. He wore the standard hakama but the ends of his pant legs closed inside extended and curved boots.

"Yo, lucky me, I get to kill two humans today." The Arrancar told them with a large grin. His sword was resting on his shoulder, however unlike most of the other Arrancar; his sword was in a different shape. It took the form of a giant axe-like weapon bearing two crescent moon-shaped blades fused together at the backs, with a large looped chain connected to the shaft at the end of the handle. The chain is connected to his waist.

Chad fell into a defensive position whilst Ishida summoned his Heilig Bogen looking at the Arrancar warily and asked, "Who are you?!"

"It doesn't matter just attack me." The Arrancar told them bluntly before sneering at the fallen Privaron Espada, "To lose to a human... It's no wonder Aizen-sama searched us out. You're nothing more than pathetic trash."

He turned back to the humans and taunted them, "Show me what you weaklings have got!"

Whilst the Arrancar was taunting his fallen 'comrade', Chad had been thinking heavily, _'I understand that his skills may be of a high level, but... This shouldn't be a problem! Judging by that big weapon he has, his movements will be slow! Rather than just waiting to see him in action... I'll just decide this with a single attack!'_

Chad charged the Arrancar and just like he did with Gantenbainne, he hit the tall Arrancar in the gut with his La Muerte. He expected the Arrancar to collapse in pain, but instead much to his horror all he heard from the Arrancar was, "What the fuck? Is that really all you have got?"

Ishida saw that the Arrancar had lift his weapon into the air, no doubt about to swing it down onto Chad, and he quickly retaliated by firing an arrow into the weapon. The force of the arrow was enough to make Nnoitra stagnate briefly and gave Chad the chance to jump back to get some distance.

Ishida summoned another arrow and this time, aimed it at Nnoitra's head but was stunned when the tall, lanky Arrancar merely caught it with his left hand. With a large smirk, he crushed the arrow into pieces and told him, "You caught me off guard a moment ago. But that's all. Like your friend here, you are nothing more than pathetic trash."

"He is too strong." Chad murmured appearing next to Ishida, keeping his voice low enough so that Nnoitra couldn't hear. "That was my strongest attack and it did nothing."

"He must have tough Hierro." Ishida said, "Thankfully I have a way to get around that."

"How?" Chad whispered.

"Enough of your yakking!" Nnoitra said annoyed, "Hit me with another attack. Just try and break through my Hierro."

"You seem pretty confident in your Hierro." Ishida mused, "I'm going to enjoy the look on your face when we break through."

"HAHA" Nnoitra laughed loudly, "As if two humans could break through my Hierro." He then sneered at them and stuck his tongue out which had the number 5 imprinted on it. He withdrew it and informed them, "I am the 5th Espada, Nnoitra Jiruga and I have the most powerful Hierro among the Espada!"

Chad flinched, "This is going to be difficult."

However, Ishida smirked and told his tall friend, "Don't worry, I've got an idea."

"You do?" Chad asked surprised.

Ishida nodded, "Hit him with your El Directo, he will allow it to hit him and it will give me an opening."

Chad nodded as Reiatsu burst out of his shoulder and yelled, "El Directo!"

He fired the large wave of blue Reiatsu at Nnoitra but the Arrancar just scoffed and didn't even raise a defence and was enveloped by the blast. Ishida vanished in a burst of speed as the sand and smoke from Chad's attack cleared revealing an unharmed and bored Nnoitra.

"Tesla!" Nnoitra suddenly shouted, "You can take the big one... he is worse than trash!"

A slim, male Arrancar with dirty blonde hair suddenly appeared a few metres from Nnoitra. He had a turquoise marking on his right cheek and wore an eye patch over his brown right eye. He also wore a different style jacket from most Arrancar in that it resembled a lab coat, with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows and medals sewn across his chest. He also wore black gloves and boots and the remains of his Hollow mask appeared to be a thin upper jaw which formed a circle around his forehead.

"As you wish, Nnoitra-sama." His Fracción said and prepared to withdraw his sword.

"I've got you now." Ishida said as he suddenly appeared in front of a surprised Nnoitra and in each hand he held a Seele Schneider. He slashed Nnoitra's chest with both of them in an X – shape before utilising Hirenkyaku to gain some meters and stabbed one onto the sand. Activating his Ginrei Kojaku he placed the remaining Seele Schneider in the bow in replacement of an arrow and shot it towards Nnoitra.

It slammed into his the area where he had been previously slashed however when it connected with his Hierro, the Reiatsu in the Seele Schneider vanished.

"Is that it?" Nnoitra mocked, "Pathetic."

Chad however narrowed his eyes as he remembered what Ishida had told him about the Seele Schneider's, _'It can steal Reishi from my opponents and weaken the bonds between Reishi wherever it cuts.'_

If that was true, Ishida hadn't been trying to kill him but to weaken his Hierro in that area and so Chad immediately shot forward and prepared to use his Lu Muerte. Ishida mentally smirked when he saw Chad realise his intention and quickly placed another Seele Schneider in his bow and aimed it carefully.

Seeing Chad charge towards his master, Tesla sonidoed in between them and held out his Zanpakutō out in front of him in order to block the attack. His Zanpakutō took the unusual form of a rapier with a chakram embedded into the blade just above the hilt, and spikes on the hilt rim.

The Fracción's eyes widened however when he saw at the corner of his eye the incoming arrow and titling to the right he was able to dodge it. However, with this opportunity, Chad was able to run straight past him and gave him a large backhand with his fully activated right arm. Tesla was sent crashing heavily into the ground, and was buried deep in the sand.

Nnoitra scoffed seeing his only Fracción fall in disgrace and mocked the incoming human, "This didn't work last time trash, how is going to be any different this time? My Hierro is impenetrable."

"So then why aren't you the first Espada?!" Chad roared as he reared his left arm, his fist crackling with electric like Reiatsu. "Lu Muerte!"

He brought his fist up and for the second time, slammed it into Nnoitra's stomach, in the same area as Ishida attacked him with the Seele Schneider, as hard as he possibly could after pouring as much Reiatsu into the technique as he could. He grunted in satisfaction when Nnoitra collapsed to his knees in pain and coughed up some blood.

'_What the hell?!'_ The Espada thought furiously as he rubbed his stomach in pain with his free hand. The sheer pain that had spread out through his body from the impact of the human's large fist had been devastating, _'How could this human trash damage me? How could he have gotten past my Hierro?!'_

He had watched the incoming fist with sheer boredom as the human was clearly inferior to him and had already attempted and failed to get past his Hierro. So what had changed? Could it have been the Quincy?

Nnoitra's eyes narrowed, yes there could be no other reason; it had to of been those attacks from those small blades had somehow weakened his Hierro.

"Sado-kun move!" Ishida yelled and Chad immediately compiled and with a small burst of speed, he jumped back high in the air and landed a few metres from the Quincy. Ishida grinned at the kneeling Espada as he held a Ginto that contained a liquid form of Reiryoku and poured it onto the handle of the Seele Schneider that had been stuck into the ground before him. Nnoitra's eyes widened suddenly when he realised he was surrounded by a pentagon shape seal and when the liquid hit the handle, he was caught in a massive explosion of Reiatsu.

With a smirk on Ishida's face he explained to a confused Chad, "The arrow I fired at that other Arrancar was never meant to hit him; he dodged it just like I wanted him to. That arrow was intended to set up my Sprenger, and one of the Seele Schneider's that I slashed him with I stabbed into the sand was one. I then immediately threw three others while you attacked the Arrancar."

"I see." Chad murmured.

"That was pathetic, to do all that for something so useless!" Nnoitra suddenly shouted startling Chad as the debris from the explosion dissipated revealing an unharmed Nnoitra.

"Not even a scratch." Chad whispered shocked.

Ishida on the other hand chuckled confusing both Chad and Nnoitra and he explained, "Once you are trapped in my Sprenger, I can modify the blast, making it either do damage, or I can wrap the attack around you and bind you." Ishida's glasses flashed for a moment as his smirk grew, "Or I can use it, to destroy the bonds of Reishi that is used to strengthen your Hierro."

Nnoitra's eyes widened and Ishida continued, "Do you get it now? An Arrancar's Hierro is useless against me."

'_How strong have you become Ishida?'_ Chad wondered to himself, he had become far stronger than what he had been in Soul Society. The gap in their powers had become wide; he had grown far beyond what he was capable, just like Ichigo.

Ishida frowned as he remembered his training with his father, Ryūken. His father had been quite surprised that he had got his powers back but after a lot of arguing, he had been able to get Ryūken to train him. The training he had received had been brutal, he was forced to gather Reishi in incredible speeds that went beyond his limits and also gathering a much large quantity than what his body was used to. Ryūken showed him how to use all of the Quincy equipment properly and how to utilize different ways to manipulate Reishi into more ways than just to do damage.

"You're bluffing" Nnoitra spat furiously, "I'm sick of your cocky shit, you actually think that you can take away my Hierro? That's a load of bullshit!"

Ishida smirked and deactivated his Heilig Bogen and activated his Ginrei Kojaku and fired a barrage of arrows at the 5th Espada. Instinctively, Nnoitra used his large axe-like Zanpakutō to protect himself from the arrows, unfortunately it couldn't cover his entire body and some of the small blue arrows shot past it. He was able to block all the ones that would have hit critical areas but once the Quincy had ceased firing, he had many arrows piercing his body.

"You! Human scum!" Nnoitra growled furiously as he saw blood flowing from the places that the arrows had penetrated his body, "I will make you pay for this humiliation!"

"Not likely." A voice suddenly spoke up to Nnoitra's left and the Arrancar wasn't quick enough to avoid the Lu Muerte that Chad had delivered which connected with his right cheekbone. The force of the blow sent him crashing into the sand heavily and Chad landed on the sand panting slightly, he really had burnt up al lot of his Reiatsu.

Once again, Ishida noticed the small flickering green light at the bottom of his feet and thought, _'He really needs to get a name for that.'_

"I WILL NOT STAND FOR THIS!" Nnoitra roared as he jumped back onto his feet as his body was surrounded in yellow Reiatsu.

"Wait!" Chad shouted in fear, "Is he...?"

"Oh no!" Ishida exclaimed in realisation and quickly fired another barrage of arrows at the furious Espada.

"Pray, Santa Teresa!"

He exploded in a massive amount of yellow Reiatsu that completely repelled the arrows, not only were Ishida's arrows repelled but both he and Chad felt the Arrancar's heavy Reiatsu press down on them.

Once all the sand and dust had cleared, both humans were shocked to see Nnoitra's new appearance. He had gained an extra set of arms, which take on an insect-like carapace and clawed hands, with each hand holding a large scythe-like weapon as well. The scythes themselves resembled the appendages of a praying mantis, and had a small golden tassel at the end of each staff. He also gained a golden marking extending from his forehead to below his right eye, as well as a pair of horns on his head, his left horn longer than his right, resembling a crescent moon. His Hollow mask also changed, becoming torn, with the teeth extending over the hole itself.

"Not only is his injuries healed, but he now has four arms." Chad murmured shocked.

Ishida frowned, "Be careful Sado-kun, not only has his injuries healed, but there is a high possibility that his Hierro is also restored. He won't fall for the same trick twice and there is something even more worrying."

"What do you mean?" Chad asked confused.

"Santa Teresa means praying mantis which means that there is still a chance that he might have six arms instead of four." Ishida explained, "This could be a problem."

Nnoitra breathed in the air deeply, regaining his composure and snarled at the two humans whilst bracing his weapons to attack, "I won't fall for your tricks this time; I will kill you both in the most painful way possible for the humiliation you have caused me... ME! The strongest Espada!"

**With Rukia and Inoue**

Rukia groaned as her eyes opened slightly, it took a moment to get her bearings before she remembered everything before she fell unconscious. The petite Shinigami sat up abruptly, her hand automatically going to her stomach where the Espada had stabbed her but found not only was the wound healed, but her Shihakushō had been repaired.

"Are you okay, Kuchiki-san?" A familiar voice suddenly spoke up not too far away from her. Rukia turned in the direction of the voice and saw Inoue in a similar outfit to what the Arrancars wore.

"I-Inoue... But how?" Rukia asked astonished.

Inoue looked away ashamed to meet her gaze, Rukia had almost been killed trying to rescue her, "Aizen said he no longer has any need for me."

"I see..." Rukia murmured and then tried to think of a delicate way to ask Inoue what Aizen wanted her for.

"Ulquiorra forced me." Inoue said reading Rukia's expression and then she explained how all of her friends were threatened. She also explained that the person that she went by Ichigo's place to heal his injuries before seeing Tatsuki one last time. She also told her about everything that she had to do since she came here.

"So, you're telling me that Aizen allowed you to heal me?" Rukia asked skeptically.

"Not to just heal you." Inoue told her and pointed in the direction behind Rukia, "But to revive them."

Rukia turned in the direction that Inoue was pointing and her eyes widened as she took in the sight of the two Shinigami lying on the floor.

"Aizen put the Hōgyoku in your hand and then told me to heal you." Inoue explained, "Once their forms started to appear, he instructed me to keep going until they were fully restored. He then took the Hōgyoku and left but he said that I 'brought Shiba Kaien and his wife Shiba Miyako back to life.'"

"I-Impossible." Rukia muttered, not taking her eyes off the man she considered to be a mentor and a brother along with his wife whom she had looked to as a sister. "This must be another trick from the Hollow I fought."

"Umm... You mean that Hollow, Kuchiki-san?" Inoue told her timidly pointing to the two small skull heads laying on the ground a few metres away from them.

Rukia blinked as she saw them, they were definitely the same heads that she remembered seeing but then shook her head and said, "Aizen must have used his Zanpakutō on us and created an illusion to let down our guards."

"Doesn't he have to give a phrase or something to use his sword?" Inoue asked confused.

Rukia shook her head, "Not necessarily, once a Shinigami can use Bankai, it is possible for them to release their Shikai without saying the command out loud. Since Aizen was a Taicho, he can use Bankai."

Inoue tilted her head trying to understand, "But wouldn't something happen if he activated his Shikai?"

"Yeah, from what I remember his sword shatters." Rukia answered.

"He hasn't taken his sword out of its sheath since I have been here." Inoue informed her.

"Are you sure?" Rukia asked her with wide eyes which startled Inoue by the sheer amount of hope radiating in her Shinigami friend's eyes.

Inoue nodded in confirmation and Rukia whispered staring at Kaien, "Are you really alive again Kaien-dono?"

It was moments later when the dark haired former fukutaicho stirred and his eyes opened before slowly sitting up and with his right arm he rubbed his forehead. It was a strange feeling, ever since he fought that Hollow, Metastacia and was fused with him, he had been able to see everything but unable to control his own body. He remembered Rukia killing him which he was grateful but unfortunately for him, Metastacia was restored in Hueco Mundo before being devoured by Aaroniero.

Once again, he was still aware of everything, something that Aaroniero took pleasure in, allowing all those he had devoured to be able to see everything and not being able to do anything about it. Yet once again, who was it that he was forced to watch fight Aaroniero, it just had to be Rukia. The despair he had felt when he saw that his own identity was being used to trick the Shinigami that he thought of as a little sister. He almost burst in pride however when Rukia was finally to realise that she was being tricked and gathered the resolve to fight the Hollow.

He was horrified when Rukia was impaled by his own Zanpakutō but he was soon in awe when Rukia was able to turn the tables and destroy the Hollow. It was amazing for him to see how powerful Rukia had become and he welcomed the freedom in death.

Now he wondered just where he was and what he had to do, he was curious as to where he was. It was clear that he hadn't been reincarnated since he still had all of his memories, so he was confused on just what was going on.

"K-K-Kaien-dono?"

Kaien looked up sharply hearing the familiar face and he saw Rukia standing only a few metres away looking at him with large eyes, with signs of tears getting ready to fall. He quickly looked around the room and saw that it was the same room that Rukia had fought Aaroniero in.

"Is that you, Kuchiki?" He acknowledged in disbelief as he got to his feet.

"Are you really Kaien-dono?" Rukia asked the hope obvious in her voice.

Kaien grunted, "Of course I am. I don't have a clue on how I am alive; I should have been purified along with Aaroniero."

The next thing he knew he was suddenly embraced in a fierce hug from the petite Shinigami startling him slightly and he felt his Shihakushō getting wet. His eyes soften when he realised that she was crying and he couldn't blame her, she had been in two situations where she had to 'kill' him.

"I'm sorry... I'm so sorry." Rukia kept mumbling as tears kept flowing down her eyes. She wasn't one to let her emotions overcome her control, but the reappearance on one of the most important people in her life was just too much for her to suppress.

Kaien suddenly broke the hug startling Rukia before raising a fist and smashed it into the top of her head causing Rukia to yelp in pain.

"That nobility has gone to your head hasn't it?!" Kaien said angrily, "Putting my death on your shoulders and taking all the responsibility for it... How arrogant of you Kuchiki!"

Rukia looked up at her mentor, eyes still shining with unshed tears before Kaien placed a hand on her hair and told her softly, "It wasn't your fault Kuchiki... If anything it is me that should be apologising to you. I let my anger and pain cloud my judgment... As I am sure you know, looking at things in hindsight it is easy to see where you went wrong. I wanted to avenge Miyako and yet instead of triple teaming that damn hollow and killing it quickly, I tried to fight it alone and it got me devoured by it. What's worse is that it forced you to kill me and carry a burden you should have never had to bear. For that... I'm sorry Kuchiki."

Rukia just bowed her head and said softly, "But because of me, you were forced up to Hueco Mundo and eaten by Aaroniero."

Kaien shook his head and explained, "No, we both didn't know that the damn Hollow would resurrect in Hueco Mundo. You thought and I thought, by killing me it would purify me. However you gained the courage and resolve to kill Aaroniero despite myself being stuck inside in hope that I would be purified. You haven't done anything wrong Kuchiki and if you continue to blame yourself, I'm going to hit you again."

Rukia looked back up to her mentor with a genuine smile which startled Inoue who hadn't seen a genuine smile light up Rukia's face. The orange haired beauty figured that not many had seen it before and she assumed that Ichigo was one of the few who had seen it.

Speaking of Ichigo, Inoue couldn't help notice how strikingly similar both Ichigo and Kaien were and she hoped that she was there when they meet. It would certainly be amusing to see. The main differences were, Kaien's eyes being an aqua green, he had longer hair and of course the colour was different with Kaien having raven black hair. The former fukutaicho was also slightly taller.

"Oh Kaien-dono... It wasn't just you that came back." Rukia told him wiping the remaining tears from her eyes and pointed to the prone figure of his wife that he hadn't noticed. "Look."

Kaien's eyes widened when he saw her before he rushed over and lifted her up by her shoulders and shook her slightly.

"Hey Miyako... Wake up Miyako!" He said urgently causing his wife to groan and open her eyes groggily.

"Urgh... Kaien?" She asked confused, the last thing she remembered was her squad being attacked by a Hollow before everything went black. Kaien hugged his wife tightly, tears leaking out of his eyes, he couldn't believe that not only he was alive but he had the love of his life back in his arms.

Inoue looked on with a smile at the romantic moment, contemplating whether she would ever have that with someone. Honestly, she had thought about Ichigo, he just had that aura that drew someone in and his desire to get stronger and protect his friends was his most admirable trait. However, her feelings towards him were more of an admiration than actual romantic feelings; she wanted to have the strength and determination like him to get stronger. Hell, she wasn't even comfortable enough to call him by his first name, no, the friendship she had with him now is all that they would be.

She didn't have any romantic feelings for Sado as she didn't really know him all that well on a personal level; however he was the first person she ever trained with. They bonded as friends when they first gain their powers and she would willingly put on the life on the line for him but she wasn't attracted to him. If she could have anyone to fight alongside with, it would be Sado, they both knew each other's abilities well and their fighting style from the times they trained together.

Uryu was really the only other option she had and it was definitely a possibility. They had grown close in Soul Society since both of them were together when they were separated from the others. He was strong and could no doubt protect her, but wouldn't be afraid to allow her to try and protect herself. It was probably one trait that he had over Ichigo since Ichigo tended to put everything on his shoulders, but Ishida wasn't afraid to share the burden so to speak.

Inoue shook her head, it wasn't time to be thinking about all of this, first they had to get the others and get out of Hueco Mundo. Then she had to get strong enough to fight along with her friends and finish high school, and then perhaps it was time she could start thinking about all of this.

Rukia on the other hand looked away; she wasn't used to seeing romantic moments in public as they made her uncomfortable. It was easy to watch on the T.V since it was all acting; none of it was real love.

"Kaien... What happened? Where are we?" Miyako asked curiously as she took in her surroundings.

Kaien explained everything to her, how she was fused with the Hollow that attacked her squad and what it forced her to do. He then told her how he was blinded by his anger and grief and that he fought the Hollow on his own and how it fused with him also. Miyako could clearly hear the pain in his voice when he told her that Rukia was forced to kill him and then he went on to inform her on everything that happened after being absorbed into Aaroniero.

After he had finished, Miyako remained silent for a few moments as guilt wormed away through her soul, she had killed several of her own comrades no matter how unwillingly it was. She stood up giving Inoue a clear look at her, she had long dark hair which she kept tied up with a strand hanging down on each side and she wore the standard Shihakushō.

Miyako pushed down her guilt when she was Rukia and smiled softly and said, "You've really grown, Rukia-chan."

Rukia tried to force down the blush at her compliment without any success. This was the woman that she had idolised, the woman that she aspired to be like when she was older and it was the first time she had heard her voice in just less than 40 years.

Kaien then blinked as he finally took notice of the other person in the room and he asked, "Hey Kuchiki, who is your friend?"

Inoue bowed, "I'm Inoue Orihime... Human."

"Human...? Seriously?" Kaien asked curiously.

Rukia and Inoue didn't have time to explain however as suddenly they felt a large Reiatsu burst to life near Ishida and Chad. It was a large Reiatsu one that Kaien recognised.

"That's Nnoitra... The 5th Espada and he just released his Zanpakutō."

"How did you know that?" Rukia asked slightly suspicious, deep in her mind she still believed that Kaien and Miyako coming back to life were just too good to be true.

If Kaien heard the suspicion in her voice, he didn't acknowledge it, "As I told you, I was aware of everything whilst inside of Aaroniero and I remember the feeling of Nnoitra's Reiatsu when releasing his Zanpakutō."

Rukia frowned, "How come you can remember everything but Miyako-dono can't?"

Kaien shrugged not knowing the answer and said honestly, "I don't know... Maybe it is because I was the last one to be absorbed by the damn Hollow."

"I see." Rukia murmured before she felt another rise in Reiatsu this time it was two individuals and she knew exactly who they were.

"Kuchiki-san, this is..." Inoue said as she too felt the familiar Reiatsu spike.

Rukia nodded, "Yeah, that's Ichigo and the 6th Espada Grimmjow."

"You know Grimmjow?" Kaien asked warily.

Rukia nodded, "I will explain later... Do both of you have your Zanpakutō?"

Kaien and Miyako looked at each other and simultaneously shrugged and said together, "I don't know."

"Could you find out?" Rukia asked impatiently, "We don't have much time!"

Miyako nodded and sat down in a mediative position in order to try and communicate with her Zanpakutō whilst Kaien followed grumbling, "Kuchiki sure has gotten bossy. I thought I was supposed to be the superior one in the relationship."

Rukia ignored him, the reminder that her friends were in danger helped regain control of her emotions. She had plenty of time to catch up with both of them once they were back in Soul Society but for now the others needed them.

"What do we do now, Kuchiki-san?" Inoue asked, "Do we go help Kurosaki-kun or do we help Ishida-kun and Sado-kun?"

Rukia closed her eyes as she sought out her oldest friend, Renji's Reiatsu and discovered that it was rather steady before answering, "Renji seems to be holding up against whoever he fighting well, plus he still has Bankai to fall on. The same with Ichigo, he has fought Grimmjow a few times now, so he will be able to deal with him on his own. We don't know much about this Nnoitra... So it would be best if we go aid Ishida and Sado."

Unknown to her... Renji was fighting an opponent that had been able to neutralise his Bankai.

**With Ichigo and Nel**

Ichigo had been running down a corridor for some time now whilst giving Nel a piggy back ride much to the young Arrancar's delight. Whilst running he kept his sense tuned into his friends Reiatsu and immediately tried to hurry in Rukia's direction when he felt her Reiatsu decrease rapidly. He could sense Renji's Reiatsu and felt it sky rocket meaning that he went Bankai but concern filled Ichigo's mind when he felt his Reiatsu drop sharply back down.

Something must have happened to his Bankai... That meant that he was in serious danger but Ichigo knew that he would have to believe in Renji as he had to take Nel to go heal Rukia. Both Ishida and Chad's Reiatsu was still going strong so he didn't have to worry about them.

Eventually the corridor ended and the entered a massive hall type room with many large pillars and on the opposite side of the room was a long stair case.

"Sorry Nel." Ichigo apologised as he lifted her off his shoulders and tucked her under his left arm, "But we are going to have to go in much more quickly."

Just as he prepared to Shunpo in the direction of Rukia a voice from the top of the stair case said, "So you've noticed."

Ichigo spun around and faced the stair case as he recognised the voice and saw Ulquiorra looking down towards him with his hands in his pocket, "I thought you were just a mere brute who swung his sword around but apparently it seems you do possess some sense after all."

"You're..." Ichigo began to say before Ulquiorra interrupted, "We meet again, Shinigami."

"You're Ulquiorra."

"Oh, you remember my name, yet I don't remember telling you it." Ulquiorra said as he began descending down the stairs.

Once he reached the bottom and now only stood a few metres from Ichigo and then informed him, "Kuchiki Rukia is dead."

Ichigo's eyes widened momentarily, "What... Did you say?"

"To be exact... She and the 9th Espada defeated each other." Ulquiorra explained, "Her entire body was slashed to pieces and skewered on a spear. She is no longer among the living."

Ichigo scowled, "I don't want to hear anymore of this bullshit... Rukia's Reiatsu has just become miniscule... Without even fighting her, how would you know...?"

"Mental synchronization." Ulquiorra answered, "It was one of the 9th Espada's abilities – An ability which served a purpose. He could instantly send all of the information about the enemy that he fought... On to any of his comrades."

Ichigo didn't answer and just walked past him continuing to head in the direction that Rukia was forcing Ulquiorra to ask, "Where are you going?"

"To save Rukia." Ichigo answered bluntly.

"Even though I told you that she died?" Ulquiorra asked skeptically.

"I don't give a damn about the abilities that you Espada might have... Rukia and I are connected, no matter how low her Reiatsu gets, I can still sense it. She is alive!" Ichigo informed him and continued walking away.

Ulquiorra then asked him, "Is it really alright for you to leave without killing me?"

"I don't have a reason to fight you." Ichigo answered.

"What is that supposed to mean?" Ulquiorra asked, a hint of curiosity creeping into his voice.

"You're my enemy, but I have no interest in fighting you right now." Ichigo replied.

"Is that so...?" Ulquiorra mused, "What if I was to tell you that I... Was the one that brought Inoue Orihime to Hueco Mundo in the first place?"

Ichigo remained silent for a moment and the retorted, "I already knew that and a part of me wants to lash out and attack you for doing so. However, saving Rukia is more important than getting payback." He looked back at Ulquiorra with a fierce glare, "Once I save her and Inoue, I will crush you!"

Ulquiorra raised an eyebrow at Ichigo's declaration, he expected the Shinigami to attack in a rage but instead, he was going to go save his friend. When Ichigo went to leave, Ulquiorra suddenly sonidoed in front of him, his hands yet to leave his pocket.

"Get out of the way!" Ichigo demanded, "I'm not interested in fighting you right now!"

Ulquiorra's emotionless eyes bored into his own and the Arrancar said, "You break into Las Noches and you expect me to just let you walk away to save one of your comrades."

"Nel, back away." Ichigo said as he put the child Arrancar on the ground and she backed away fearfully, knowing full well who the Arrancar that was standing before them was. "It looks like I am going to have to go through him first."

Ichigo withdrew his sealed Zanpakutō from its sheath and held it out in front of him in a defensive position.

"Stop the Rain, Zangetsu!" Ichigo said activating his trusty Shikai and prepared to fight the formidable Arrancar. He remembered the last time he had fought Ulquiorra, he had been battered aside easily, and he should be feeling nervous about fighting such a strong opponent. However he was rather excited as this would be the perfect opportunity to see just how strong he had become. Unfortunately, he didn't have the time to drag this out with Rukia's life in the balance and just as he was prepared to use Bankai and Hollowfication, he was suddenly interrupted.

"_Hang on a moment Ichigo."_ Zangetsu told him hurriedly, _"Do not Hollowfy just yet."_

"_What?"_ Ichigo asked him confused, _"Why not?"_

"_Can't use sense it?"_ His Zanpakutō asked, _"Feel the Reiatsu that is heading for Rukia."_

Ichigo nodded and focused his senses strictly on Rukia's location before scanning the area around it and felt two familiar Reiatsu heading for her location. He glanced at Ulquiorra and saw just for a brief moment, his eyes narrowed slightly and Ichigo knew that he was confused on why those two were heading towards Rukia.

"_Why is Aizen taking Inoue there?"_ Ichigo asked Zangetsu.

"_I don't know. Perhaps he is taking her there so he can break her spirit completely."_ Zangetsu guessed.

"_So what should I do?" _Ichigo asked curiously, _"Should I get past this guy with just Bankai?"_

Zangetsu nodded in his inner world, _"I think that would be best... You will need to Hollowfy to have a chance against Aizen. We have to strike hard and fast, a full powered Getsuga Cero should do some major damage. A weakened one did some serious damage, so a full powered one could fatally injure him."_

"_I understand."_ Ichigo accepted,_ "Are you ready, Zangetsu?"_

"_I'm always ready to help you, Ichigo."_

Ichigo swung his Zanpakutō into position to activate Bankai and yelled whilst surrounded by a large fierce wave of blue Reiatsu, "BAN... KAI!"

Ulquiorra waited for the large column of smoke mixed with remnants of blue Reiatsu to clear, he raised his left eyebrow in slight interest. The brat's Reiatsu certainly had become much more potent than the last time he had saw him activate Bankai.

Ulquiorra's eyes widened however when he felt movement behind him and quickly turned his head and at the same time withdrew his hands from their pockets. Ichigo had suddenly appeared behind him, smoke clinging to his clothes, his eyes seemed to be lit up with blue Reiatsu and Tensa Zangetsu engulfed in blue flame-like Reiatsu.

"What were you staring at?!" Ichigo roared as he swung his Zanpakutō intending to take off Ulquiorra's head, but the Vasto Lorde Arrancar ducked underneath the blow and followed up with a kick towards Ichigo's torso.

He was shocked however when Ichigo caught his foot and then pumping Reiatsu through his arm and hand, he threw Ulquiorra into the air. The Arrancar quickly regained his balance in mid air but quickly pulled out his sword to defend the wordless Getsuga that Ichigo sent towards him. He blocked the wave of Reiatsu with his sword but the force was sending him skidding back through the air. With his free hand, the Arrancar formed a green Cero and shot it into the Getsuga creating an explosion.

It was only thanks to his Pesquisa, he had the best sensory powers among the Espada that enabled him to lean back and dodge the black blade attempting to stab him through the head. However Ichigo followed up with a hard punch to Ulquiorra's face and then followed up with another wordless Getsuga which sent Ulquiorra crashing into the ground.

Ichigo then began to gather Reiatsu into Tensa Zangetsu and lifted it above his head, and tightened his grip on the handle with both hands. Blue Reiatsu envelop his blade however his eyes widened when he saw a glint of green before Ulquiorra released a Cero that shot straight towards Ichigo.

Ichigo suddenly grinned and shunpoed away faster than Ulquiorra's eyes could follow and appeared a few metres to the left of him with his sword still engulfed by Reiatsu.

"GETSUGA TENSHO!" Ichigo roared as he swung his sword downwards and unleashed the crescent wave of blue Reiatsu at Ulquiorra who attempted to fend it off with his Zanpakutō. As he attempted to fend it off, Ulquiorra couldn't stop himself from skidding back once again; his attack had become far stronger than it had been back in the real world. However the most curious thing of all was that the attack wasn't as large and wide as it was previously, no it was much more condensed which increased its power.

Seeing Ulquiorra struggled against his attack, Ichigo quickly shot towards Nel and grabbed her before Shunpoing away and headed towards Rukia. He cut through the wall with ease before blinking surprise when he came across a sunny desert but pushed it to the back of his mind and quickened his pace.

Meanwhile Ulquiorra was still struggling to fend off the sheer force of Ichigo's attack; he had two hands on his sword and lifted a single index finger. He couldn't overpower this attack in his current form and he noted to himself that he had to now use Resurrection in order to fight Ichigo's Bankai. Just as he prepared to launch the Cero, he felt a presence suddenly appeared behind him before noticing a small cube heading straight into his hollow hole.

Ulquiorra was suddenly encased in a large purple cube of Reiatsu along with half of Ichigo's Getsuga but before he was sealed away he saw a flash of blue hair along with a malicious grin.

'_Damn you Grimmjow.'_

The blue haired 6th Espada grinned after seeing Ulquiorra getting locked away in a separate dimension thanks to his Caja Negación. It would only last a few hours but that's all he needed and now he had a prey to hunt. He of course had to dodge the remaining power left in Ichigo's attack.

Ichigo stopped suddenly startling Nel and the little Arrancar asked, "Why did you stop Itsygo?"

Ichigo scowled,_ 'What the hell was going on?'_

Aizen's Reiatsu was gone, yet Inoue's was still there along with Rukia's and it had been restored. There were two other Reiatsu's there; however they weren't hollow like, in fact, Ichigo was sure that they were Shinigami. It couldn't be Gin or that Tōsen since he had felt their Reiatsu before and it was nothing like the ones he was sensing right now.

Still, Rukia wasn't raising her Reiatsu as she would if she was in a battle so then she must be okay. He released his Bankai, reverting back to his Shikai and quickly looked at his surroundings and saw that it was mainly all sand except for the large red cylinder buildings.

It was then he noticed several things at once, first it was that Chad and Ishida were fighting an opponent with a large Reiatsu and also Renji's steady Reiatsu level. Ichigo frowned, he had to change course and go help Renji instead, since it seemed like he couldn't use Bankai for some reason which meant he was the most vulnerable.

Just as he prepared to go help him, he froze as he sent an incoming and familiar Reiatsu causing him to grin; it looks like Grimmjow was coming for another beating.

'_Wait a minute...'_ Ichigo thought suddenly, _'The direction he is coming in... It is the same direction that I was fighting Ulquiorra and yet I can't sense him anymore. Surely he couldn't have been killed by my attack, so then where is he?'_

His thoughts were interrupted when he saw Grimmjow Sonido into view with a large malicious grin on his face as he stared down Ichigo from his spot in the air.

"Finally found you Shinigami!"

"Grimmjow" Ichigo stated in acknowledgment, "What happened to Ulquiorra?"

"You don't have to worry about him." Grimmjow told him, "Right now he is sealed away in another dimension. All you should be worrying about Shinigami, is how much pain you are going to be in before I kill you."

Ichigo smirked before glancing down at Nel in his arms and said to Grimmjow, "Give me a moment."

Using Shunpo to get to the top of the closet red cylinder building and placed Nel on it before telling her to stay here while he fought Grimmjow. Nel agreed reluctantly, obviously worried about him but he told her that he would be all right.

He then shunpoed up to where Grimmjow eagerly awaited and both stood in the air with roughly 10 metres separating them.

"How nice of you." Grimmjow mocked, "Making sure that Arrancar brat is in a safe place before fighting. How stupid of you to show me one of your weaknesses that I can exploit."

Ichigo's eyes narrowed as he gripped the handle of his Shikai tightly as a faint aura of pale blue Reiatsu surrounded his body, "If you touch even a hair on her head, you will not like the consequences!"

Grimmjow grinned when he saw the deadly look in Ichigo's eyes, "That's the eyes that I wanted to see Kurosaki... At least I know how to get you fired up should the look in your eye vanish."

"You're bluffing." Ichigo said bluntly.

"What did you say?" Grimmjow questioned.

"I said you're bluffing." Ichigo told him, "You're not the type to attack those weaker than him. All that does is show how weak you really are and besides you don't need to find a way to keep me fired up. I've wanted to crush you for a while!"

Grimmjow grinned as he pulled out his sword and began powering up his Reiatsu to the limits of his current form.

"_Please lend me your power Zangetsu... I'm going to need all I've got for this fight."_ Ichigo requested his most trusted companion.

"_Very well Ichigo... Let's purify him."_ Zangetsu replied as his power fused with Ichigo's causing Grimmjow to smirk in excitement. His Reiatsu was almost equal to his own.

"Bring it on Grimmjow!" Ichigo said as he charged the Arrancar.

**You like it, Review it. Don't like it, don't read it. See areas that need improvement, Review it and tell me.**

***Rugir der Dragon - **_Roar of the Dragon_

***Brazo Izquierda del Diablo -** _Left Arm of the Devil_

**For all those that want an explanation on how Kaien was brought to life, you will have to wait until the Fake Karakura Battle to find out.**

**I initially had planned to have the Grimmjow vs. Ichigo fight in this chapter, but it was getting quite long already so I thought it would be best to end here. I hope the Ishida and Chad fans enjoyed this chapter, since Ishida recovered his powers much more quickly than he did in canon, he was able to learn a lot more from his father. As for Chad, power wise, he is the same as Canon but his speed is far superior in this since he can utilise Bringer Light.**

**Also I started a new Bleach story recently and so for all those that enjoy a Time Travel story, please check it out. BE WARNED... it is post chapter 514!**

_**Also I am thinking of another Bleach story, **__**but it won't be posted until this one is finished**__**. I will give you all a summary and you all tell me if you would have any interest in reading it.**_

'_**Ichigo has a twin sister named Eri and like in canon, their mother is killed when they are 9. However her death has a major repercussion on them as Eri discovers part of her heritage. Her mother was a Quincy and so she befriends a young boy, Ishida Uryu and learns about the Quincy from his grandfather. **_

_**Urahara informs Isshin of this development both unaware that Ichigo overhears them and eventually finds items of his father that were his when he was a Shinigami. Thanks to these items, Ichigo begins to discover his abilities having a much different effect on the course of history. Not only will Aizen have to deal with a much stronger Shinigami/Hollow Hybrid than he expected, but also a Shinigami/Quincy hybrid.**_

_**Pairings: OC X Uryu or OC X Renji, Ichigo X Rukia.'**_

**Vasto Lorde levels:**

**High Level – Ulquiorra (With a Second Resurrection) and Starrk**

**Mid Level – Baraggan**

**Low Level - Harribel**

**Level of Captains:**

**Commander – Yamamoto**

**Elite Captains – Kyōraku, Ukitake and Unohana**

**High Level Captains – Byakuya, Kenpachi and Mayuri (Brains make up for power)**

**Mid Level Captains – Soifon**

**Low Level Captains – Komamura and Toshiro. **

**Borderline Captains (Achieved Bankai, but not strong enough to become actual captains yet.) – Ikkaku and Renji**

**In this chapter I mentioned Ulquiorra being a Vasto Lorde Arrancar. Hitsugaya said that a Vasto Lorde were stronger than a Captain level, so I'm going to take that as a, they are stronger than a low level – mid level captain. **

**I believe that Starrk, Baraggan, Harribel and Ulquiorra are all Vasto Lorde Arrancar while from Nnoitra up to ****Szayelaporro was all Adjuchas and of course Aaroniero is a Gillian. Yammy is an interesting one, but I believed that he is an Adjuchas as well. I've split up the Vasto Lorde level into 3 and they are high, mid and Low. With the captains, I have split them into Commander, Elite, High, mid, low and borderline.**

**It would take the commander or an elite level captain to fight against a high level Vasto Lorde. Against a mid level Vasto it would take at least a high level Captain to defeat it. And against a low Vasto Lorde, it would take at least a mid level Captain.**

**Answering the Readers:**

**Q: **I beginning to wonder why Aizen is helping them more than trying to destroy them. What is your game DiscoStu09?

**A: **He isn't helping them, I won't go into details as it will be revealed later but I'll say that one of Aizen's flaws is his curiosity.

**Comment: **As for Aizen I feel like he might not be that evil after all.

**Reply:** Aizen might not be evil... excellent, you're picking up my hints well. What I'm trying to do with this story is to make it greyer when it comes to people's motives. Writing characters into two groups between good and evil is easy but to write characters in a way that their motives could be considered a mix is a true challenge.

**C: **I am really looking forward to Ichigo falling to despair! TRANSFORM DAMN YOU!

**R: **Don't worry it will happen eventually, and it will be more... brutal I think is the right word than he was in canon.

**C: **RFDN's Theory about Ichigo's powers...

**R: **Another interesting explanation, it is an interesting topic to think about and hopefully Kubo gives us a good explanation later on.

**C: **Considering Ichigo's increase in Power he should be able to handle Nnoitra better but will probably need the Mask against him.

**R: **As you can see from this chapter, he doesn't fight Nnoitra... or maybe he still will...

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**First of all, how fucking awesome is Yamamoto's Bankai. I was in sheer awe reading it especially when he resurrected all those he had turned to ash. I can see why he didn't use it on the Fake Karakura Arc; he would have dehydrated the whole world for a short amount of time. How many thousands of children and adults would have instantly died from becoming instantly dehydrated?**

**R.I.P - ****Yamamoto Genryūsai Shigekuni.**

**I was sad to see him die to be honest even though it was expected. It was interesting to hear about how the Gotei 13 used to, nothing more than a bunch of savages... now that is interesting, just goes to show you how much Ichigo changed Yamamoto.**

**Now Juhabach has Yamamoto's Bankai which is one of the worst things for Soul Society, he was practically unstoppable without it. What will he be like with it?**

**Ichigo throwing his sword in front of Juhabach and then arriving in his torn up Bankai was totally badass. Probably his second best entrance behind the one when he arrived in Karakura town with his dad on his shoulder.**

**Ichigo having Quincy powers... *sigh*... To be honest, who didn't expect that to happen? **

**Soul Society Arc – Develops his Shinigami powers**

**Arrancar Arc – Develops his Hollow powers**

**Lost Substitute Shinigami Arc – Develops his Fullbring Powers**

**Thousand Year Blood War Arc – Develops his Quincy Powers**

**So Ichigo is basically every race into one, I guess that's what makes him so unique. Also it appears that Masaki used to be a Quincy. Well I'll reveal a spoiler in my story here. I've already implied that Masaki is more than human in chapter 2 I believe and I will tell you all know, she is not a Quincy.**

**One thing I refuse to believe is Juhabach being Ichigo's father. That would be one of the worst twists on this story... I can accept relative of some sort but it wouldn't make sense for him to be Ichigo's dad. There are too many similarities between Isshin and Ichigo for them not to be father and son.**

**So a broke Bankai can't be fixed? That was very interesting. So Ikkaku's Bankai is practically useless now... huh? I guess we know why Renji's Bankai has changed in the 17 month time skip, no doubt he discovered that his previous Bankai had been weakened.**

**So the Royal Guard have finally made an appearance, it's about time. Their designs are a little strange but I'm more interested in the abilities and personalities. **


	11. Ichigo vs Grimmjow

**Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach**

**Chapter 11 – Ichigo vs. Grimmjow**

The fight between the 6th Espada Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez in his sealed form and Substitute Shinigami Kurosaki Ichigo in his trusty Shikai had been raging on for several minutes. So far both warriors had just been testing each other out.

Ichigo deflected Grimmjow's slash by battering it to the left and retaliated by swinging Zangetsu at Grimmjow's head but the blue haired Espada ducked under it. Grinning widely, Grimmjow aimed a punch at Ichigo's face but Ichigo just managed avoid it and then counterattacked by bringing Zangetsu down diagonally intending to cut through the Espada's neck.

However Grimmjow evaded with Sonido and gained a few metres distance but didn't resume the attack.

"Not bad Kurosaki." Grimmjow said excitedly, "You've grown much stronger to be able to stand up to me in only Shikai. I knew Ulquiorra was wrong about you. If left alone, you will keep getting stronger and stronger, so it is best to kill you now!"

Ichigo scoffed, "Thanks I guess. But you won't be able to kill me."

Grimmjow laughed loudly, "Such arrogance Kurosaki... Your Shikai is powerful but it has a major weakness."

Ichigo's eyes narrowed, "What's that?"

The orange haired Shinigami just managed to avoid the slash that would have taken his head off but a few strands of his hair were cut off.

"It's speed, Kurosaki."

Ichigo scowled and attacked the 6th Espada, both their swords clashing fiercely however it seemed that Grimmjow had learned from their previous battles and immediately disengaged. Ichigo then struggled to defend himself from the flurry of attacks Grimmjow made; he was forced to use a mixture of defensive blocks and Shunpo to dodge.

Eventually he grew frustrated at being stuck in a defensive and instead of blocking the incoming slash aimed at his torso; he released a small wordless Getsuga. The small blue waved crashed into the surprised Grimmjow and it caused him to flinch but it didn't leave any lasting damage. However it did give Ichigo a brief relief to escape Grimmjow's relentless assault with a Shunpo.

Grimmjow immediately snarled and spun around but his eyes widened as he saw Ichigo standing a few metres above him with Zangetsu above his head envelop in fiery blue Reiatsu.

"Getsuga Tensho!" Ichigo roared as he brought his Zanpakutō down and released the large pent up wave of blue Reiatsu from his blade.

"Shit!" Grimmjow grimaced as he tried unsuccessfully to block the large Reiatsu blast with his sword but was consumed by it and sent crashing into the sand. Ichigo quickly shunpoed back a few metres to steer clear of the sand that had been flung into the air from his attack. He couldn't afford the slightest distraction against the blue haired Espada since he was correct when he said that he had the advantage in speed.

Still, it seemed that whilst he might be disadvantaged by Grimmjow's superior speed, he believed that he had the edge on Grimmjow in terms of raw power. He raised his guard and focused his senses onto Grimmjow's, he would have to utilise his Getsuga and the little Kido that he knows effectively if he wanted to defeat Grimmjow's sealed form in just his Shikai.

The substitute Shinigami's eyes widened when he sensed a familiar build of Hollow Reiatsu and quickly retaliated by throwing another large Getsuga towards the column of sand. Suddenly a large red blast of Reiatsu intercepted the Getsuga and both attacks tried to overpower each other. Ichigo grinned suddenly when an idea came to his mind, while he could see that his Getsuga Tensho was starting to fail since Grimmjow kept releasing Reiatsu into his Cero. He lifted his Zanpakutō in the air once again before bringing it down releasing another wave of blue Reiatsu.

"Getsuga Tensho!"

The second Getsuga crashed onto the previous one which increased its power and begun to cut through the Cero.

'_Now what will you do Grimmjow?'_ Ichigo thought and then smirked when he saw that his opponent increase the output of his Reiatsu in order to overpower the combined Getsuga's. He noticed that there was still a lot of sand and dust still in the air making it hard to see Grimmjow but it gave Ichigo an idea.

Ichigo shunpoed to the half way point of the Cero and quickly slashed a wordless Getsuga into it side and then began to mutter an incantation whilst Shunpoing towards Grimmjow's location.

Grimmjow growled as he held his right arm forward, the red beam shooting out of his palm with his left hand sitting on top of his right forearm as a brace. He grinned when he felt his Cero begin to overpower Ichigo's Getsuga Tensho however his eyes widened when he heard his opponent shout the attack again. His legs buckled slightly when he felt pressure against his Cero increase causing him to pump as much Reiatsu into his Cero as he could. He silently regretted not using the Grand Ray Cero instead.

Just as he thought he was beginning to gain control, his Cero was suddenly knocked off course. But before he could comprehend what just happened, he heard Ichigo through the cloud of sand and dust.

"Bakudo 61: Rikujōkōrō"

Six thin, wide beams of light suddenly slammed into Grimmjow's torso and held him in place and the Espada's eyes widened when the sand cleared due to the Reiatsu that had suddenly been gathered in Ichigo's blade.

Ichigo grinned triumphantly, "There's many different ways to hit somebody that is faster than you Grimmjow! Getsuga Tensho!"

Grimmjow couldn't break the restraints in time before he was enveloped in the blast of blue Reiatsu that had erupted from Ichigo's blade that had been swung down. Ichigo followed up by backing away a few metres panting heavily, he had never used so many Getsuga Tensho's consecutively along with a Bakudo spell and needed some time to recover.

"D-damn you, Kurosaki Ichigo!" Grimmjow snarled ferociously as the sand and dust finally settled revealing the furious Espada who had a large gash on his torso and blood flowing down his forehead.

Ichigo grinned seeing his condition, "That looks painful. You can give up if you want. Just walk away."

"Don't give me that pitiful look." Grimmjow growled at him angrily, "Don't give me that look. It says that you have no intent to kill me, and it really pisses me off, you pathetic bastard!"

"What was that?" Ichigo asked annoyed, "You're not really in the condition to insult me."

With a furious roar, Grimmjow shot towards a startled Ichigo and slashed his torso but Ichigo managed to bring Zangetsu up in time to block it. However Grimmjow had the force and momentum in his attack and Ichigo was sent back into the air trying to shove the Espada away. At the moment, Ichigo was to weary to launch any more Getsuga Tensho's and he needed a minute just to regain his breath.

As they slid through the air, Ichigo was surprised to see Grimmjow stop his momentum and both stopped in mid air with their blades still clashing. The gash on Grimmjow's torso was on his left shoulder making it almost impossible for him to use his left arm. This gave Ichigo the advantage in the blade lock since he could use both his hands to overpower the one handed Grimmjow.

"You offered the chance to just walk away... Tell me something Kurosaki, why did you come here?" Grimmjow snarled.

"That's obvious isn't it? I came here to save Inoue!" Ichigo retorted annoyed.

"Hah!" Grimmjow scoffed, "If that is the case, then why are you fighting with me instead of chasing after her?"

"You're in my way." Ichigo answered aggressively, "Once I cut through you then I have a clear path."

"Then why didn't you use Bankai?" Grimmjow questioned him smugly and his smirk widened when Ichigo's eyes widened. To further prove his point he continued, "We both know that your Bankai is more than sufficient to defeat me in this form. Yet you're fighting me with your Shikai. And if that wasn't bad enough, then why are you listening to me right now instead of cutting me down! Do you understand it yet? You came here to fight. You still aren't seeing it... The true path your instincts are pointing you towards... You are a Shinigami and I am a Hollow! Whichever side losses will be annihilated. That's how it's always been for thousands of years. Do you need any other reason to fight? Come on. The one who remains standing will return alive. That's all it comes down to!"

Distracted by Grimmjow's words, he failed to notice Grimmjow's left palm was facing him with a small red ball of Reiatsu forming in his hand. He may not have been able to move his left arm well, but he could easily move his wrist.

Ichigo grunted when he felt the small Bala punch his hip and it caused him to lose a bit of force in the blade lock allowing Grimmjow to throw him off balance. The blue haired Espada used the opening to deliver a harsh kick into his stomach sending Ichigo straight into the sandy desert. Grimmjow slowly descended to the ground allowing Ichigo to get back up and he grinned widely when sand burst high into the air.

The 6th Espada's blood began to boil in excitement when he saw Ichigo standing in the middle of the sand tornado with a large amount of blue Reiatsu surrounding him. Ichigo was pointing his Zanpakutō straight at Grimmjow with the chain extending and wrapping around his right arm and his left hand was on top of his arm.

"That's it Kurosaki..." Grimmjow muttered to himself ecstatically, "Let's find out how strong you really are."

"Bankai!" Ichigo shouted before the blue Reiatsu surrounding him warped around him. For Grimmjow it was only a couple of seconds before Ichigo was revealed in his Bankai robes and his Tensa Zangetsu looking as sharp as ever.

The process into Bankai felt a lot longer for Ichigo as he could feel the Reiatsu that he had been excluding warp around him. He could feel that Reiatsu changing his usual Shinigami attire into the black Bankai cloak that he wore and he could also feel his Zanpakutō condense. He could feel the handle change in his hand, and the gloves and boots form.

"HAHA!" Grimmjow laughed loudly, "Nice... This is what I have been waiting for... This is the moment!"

Knowing full well he needed to go to full power to defeat Ichigo's Bankai, Grimmjow held his sword up, like the start of a low sweep stroke, with his right hand. His Zanpakutō then shone light blue and with a bit of effort due to his injuries, he put his left hand up onto it. He then raked his hand along the length of the blade with a swift motion, and he yelled, "Grind Pantera!"

Like Ichigo, when he called out his release command, he released a large torrent of Reiatsu that created a large tornado of sand around him.

Ichigo waited patiently for Grimmjow to unleash his Resurrección. He had been shaken momentarily from Grimmjow's words, but after unleashing his Bankai, his resolve had strengthened. He didn't really understand it but he always felt safe and more protected in his Bankai then when he was using his Shikai.

'_I'll explain why later Ichigo._' Tensa Zangetsu explained, _'For now, concentrate on this fight.'_

Ichigo mentally nodded in agreement as the large tornado of sand began to fade away. The Substitute Shinigami's eyes narrowed as he took in Grimmjow's Resurrección form.

Grimmjow's appearance had changed drastically to something more feline and predatory. His teeth became jagged and sharp, his hands had turned into black claws and his feet became black clawed paws, similar to that of a cat. He also had a slender whip-like tail that was longer than his body. His hair was now very long and flowing, and the markings around his eyes had enlarged. They extended to the tips of his ears, which had become swept back and cat-like. He lost his distinctive jaw mask, which was replaced by a headgear upon his brow covering his forehead. His clothing changed to become form-fitting white segmented armour and had blades protruding from his forearms and his calves. The biggest change though was the fact that his injuries had disappeared meaning that all of the work he had done before was meaningless.

Ichigo tightened his grip on Tensa Zangetsu as he prepared for Grimmjow's attack. He had to admit that his Resurrección wasn't quite what he was expecting. It looked pretty simple. However the same could be said about his Bankai, so he knew that he had to be on guard. He knew that he should just Hollowfy and try and end this fight as quickly as possible however he couldn't bring himself to do it.

He knew it was selfish of him, but Grimmjow was right. He wanted to fight. To test out just how strong he was. Byakuya was the first to show him just how weak he was and so he pushed himself to his limits in order to surpass the elder Kuchiki and save Rukia. After he defeated Byakuya, he didn't have long to enjoy it before he was defeated effortlessly by Aizen. That loss had set another goal for him. He had found another level of power that he needed to reach in order to protect his family and friends. Now he had the perfect chance to fully test out the limits of his Bankai and he needed to discover it.

He felt Tensa Zangetsu's approval at his decision and he raised the black blade to chest level and waited for Grimmjow's attack. Grimmjow unleashed a large roar which created large shockwaves in the air and it forced Ichigo to take a step back.

'_What...? Sound pressure? Doing this much with just a scream...'_ Ichigo thought startled.

He was even more startled when Grimmjow suddenly vanished in a burst of tremendous speed and appeared directly in front of Ichigo. Ichigo didn't react in time to avoid the fist into his chin that sent him sailing up in the air and smashed through a couple of large red pillars. The feline-like Espada materialized below Ichigo and kicked him hard in the back.

Ichigo slowly began to get his balance after the kick from Grimmjow sent him straight into the sky. He spun around expecting to see Grimmjow charging at him but his eyes widened when he felt Grimmjow's Reiatsu appear behind him. He wasn't able to turn quick enough to block the swipe that sent him straight into a large red pillar.

Grimmjow watched the pillar crumble patiently and shouted loudly, "... What's wrong? This can't be all you've got... Bring it on -."

He was cut off when Ichigo suddenly appeared behind him with his Zanpakutō held in two hands above his head. The blade was coated with blue Reiatsu and with a fierce glare Ichigo brought his sword down sharply and released the wave of Reiatsu at Grimmjow.

"Getsuga Tensho!"

Grimmjow managed to turn in time to face the blast and raise his arms over his face to deflect most of the damage. The explosion from the Getsuga created a large column of smoke and with a ferocious swipe with his right arm; he blew away all the smoke.

Grimmjow laughed loudly as he stared down Ichigo's eyes that had a light blue shine in them. They were screaming his determination and desire to win, "Good! Kurosaki Ichigo! Those are good eyes! Those eyes... Piss the hell outta me!"

The 6th Espada charged straight at Ichigo and slashed at him with the blades on his right forearm. Ichigo retaliated quickly and brought Tensa Zangetsu to block the attack as both fighters skidded through the air. After struggling for a moment, Ichigo threw him off and swung his Zanpakutō towards Grimmjow intending to cut his head clean off. Grimmjow ducked under the blow and fired a punch that would pierce through the Substitute Shinigami's chest until a gloved hand stopped it in its tracks.

Ichigo tightened his grip around Grimmjow's wrist and with a grin, he swung a Reiatsu covered Tensa Zangetsu across the Arrancar's chest. Grimmjow gasped in pain as a large stream of blood spurted out of chest and he staggered back.

"You're finished Grimmjow!" Ichigo roared as he raised his sword and fired another Getsuga Tensho to finish off Grimmjow once and for all.

Just after he had fired it however, Grimmjow disappeared using Sonido and appeared behind a startled Ichigo and kicked him hard in the waist. "Don't think a little cut is enough to stop me Kurosaki Ichigo!"

Despite the foot in his side, Ichigo grinned at the declaration and shoved his foot away with his elbow and slashed at him with his Zanpakutō. Grimmjow evaded it easily by jumping backwards and instead of continuing his attack, Ichigo lowered his sword slightly.

"I was worried there for a moment." Ichigo admitted, "Thought you were all bark and no bite."

"As if Kurosaki!" Grimmjow snarled with a maniacal grin, "I haven't even got started yet."

Ichigo responded by shunpoing towards Grimmjow and hacked at Grimmjow's left shoulder, but the Espada blocked it with the blades on his forearm. He quickly counter attacked by head butting Ichigo in his chin and then aimed a punch at Ichigo's torso but the Shinigami deflected it with his left hand. Utilising shunpo, Ichigo teleported behind the Espada and slashed at his unprotected neck but Grimmjow managed to anticipate it in time to block the attack with his forearm blades.

Both fighters struggled to overpower the other until they separated with their shunpo and sonido respectively. To the only onlooker Nel it appeared that they were only blur in the skies and each time they connected, a force of power would almost knock her off balance.

Ichigo grimaced as he leapt back following one of Grimmjow's attacks and with a quick swipe across his forehead with his gloved hand, he wiped away to the small dribble of blood. Grimmjow certainly had the upper edge in their last clash. He managed to breach his defences to land a light cut to his forehead.

Once again, Grimmjow initiated the attack however this time he tried something different. He began spinning sideways at a ferocious speed and launched a kick towards Ichigo's head. Ichigo evaded it easily by sidestepping in mid air but his eyes widened when he suddenly glimpsed Grimmjow's tail descend towards his head. Unable to dodge it in time, Ichigo was struck harshly in the head and crashed heavily into the desert.

With a wide grin, Grimmjow shot towards the ground quickly to where Ichigo had crashed, but all he could see was a column of sand and dust. He was shocked when a black sword suddenly pierced out of the sand straight towards his forehead and he only just avoided it. However he wasn't fast enough to avoid it completely and he felt the tip of the blade slice across his left arm. It wasn't deep enough to draw blood but it did leave a long bruise. Angry, he swung around and aimed his forearm blades but at the same time Ichigo had spun around and they both clashed in a fierce blade lock once again.

Grimmjow managed to slip in a kick into Ichigo's gut that forced the Shinigami to skid across the sand for a few metres. The 6th Espada pointed his right elbow at Ichigo and shouted, "Eat this Kurosaki!"

Out of his elbow, he shot 5 dark green, crystalline, unevenly cut stone darts straight towards Ichigo. Pumping reiatsu into his Zanpakutō, Ichigo raised his sword in front of him and retaliated, "Getsuga Tentate!"

The blue shield of reiatsu surrounded his Zanpakutō and he held his ground firmly when the small darts smashed into it. Three of the stone darts smashed into the shield close to where his sword was making it impossible for the stones to breach through. This was due to the fact that the reiatsu being released was at its strongest. However two of the darts pierced through the outer part of the shield and struck Ichigo in his upper right arm and left thigh.

Ichigo grimaced in pain as he panted heavily and Grimmjow grinned widely, "Not bad Kurosaki"

The Espada raised his left arm and shot one of the darts from his elbow straight at a vacant red pillar. The result was a crumbling pillar.

"Three of those couldn't break your shield." Grimmjow acknowledged smugly, "They hit the shield where your sword was, so that is the strongest point of your shield. The weakness in your shield is the furthest point from your Zanpakutō. Still, I'm impressed that you're still standing but with your heavy breathing, I can't help but ask, have you reached your limit?"

Ichigo scoffed irritably as he pushed the pain away. He could easily heal the wounds with his high speed regeneration but that would mean he would have to reveal his Hollow powers to Grimmjow. He knew he should just do it and end this fight quickly but something held him back. Was it respect? Did he respect Grimmjow as a fighter? As a rival? He shouldn't should he...? Grimmjow was a Hollow... A monster... He should just eliminate quickly. Yet unlike a normal Hollow, Grimmjow wasn't mindless and he wasn't just seeking just to destroy innocent live. Like him, Grimmjow just wanted to test his limits, to see just how strong he truly was.

A new resolve filled Ichigo's being, all of his tough fights so far had all been to protect his friends and family. But now for the first time he was fighting because he enjoyed it. Grimmjow was correct earlier; his instincts guided him here to this moment. It was time for him to truly discover just how strong he was.

"My limit?" Ichigo asked as he raised his blade above his head and slashed it downwards through the air and the sand below scattered furiously. "Not even close!"

"You're tough." Grimmjow stated as he got into his standard fighting stance, "That's how it should be."

As he said that, a crack appeared on his headgear and Ichigo noticed it. "To me, you're the one that is looking torn up."

"Sorry but you vision must be really shitty!" Grimmjow roared and charged the Shinigami. The battle between the Shinigami and Arrancar clashed once again with both of them moving at high speeds. Speeds that Nel just couldn't keep up with from her position as she watched the fight worriedly.

Grimmjow crashed into a pillar painfully from a reiatsu enforced kick to the face and he quickly swiped the blood from his lip. He narrowed his eyes at Ichigo and tried to think of a weakness in his Bankai. It seemed to be the perfect Bankai, a weapon that increased his own speed and strength to unbelievable angles. Scariest of all, was this brat had only been a Shinigami for a few months. His eyes sharpened however when he saw the dangling chain descending from his wrist and his Zanpakutō handle.

'_That's it!'_ Grimmjow thought victoriously.

Immediately bursting out of the rubble, the Espada unleashed a brutal barrage of punches at Ichigo but thanks to the condense speed given to him from his Bankai, Ichigo was able to evade and block the blows. Grimmjow continuing his barrages, managed to slip in a small Bala that connected with Ichigo's chest causing the Shinigami to flinch which gave Grimmjow the opening he wanted.

Using sonido he appeared behind Ichigo and grabbed the chain before ripping it off the glove and pulled Tensa Zangetsu out of a shocked Ichigo's hand.

"What the...?!" Ichigo muttered in disbelief.

"I think I have just won this fight Kurosaki!" Grimmjow told him gloriously as he spun Tensa Zangetsu around on his finger.

"Give Tensa Zangetsu back now!" Ichigo said furiously suddenly feeling vulnerable.

Grimmjow rolled his eyes at Ichigo's demand and answered by punching Ichigo in the face which sent him sailing into the air. As Ichigo flipped in mid air to get his balance back, Grimmjow slashed his left hand with Ichigo's Zanpakutō and it was deep enough to draw blood. He pointed his bleeding palm towards Ichigo and gathered reiatsu to the wound. Unlike his usual red cero, this one was a sky blue and Ichigo was shocked when it seemed to be disturbing the fabric of space.

"It's over Kurosaki Ichigo! Gran Ray Cero!" Grimmjow shouted and released the large blue beam of reiatsu. However, it seemed to spin like a razor as it compressed and decompressed due to the sheer speed and raw power.

Ichigo watched it shooting towards him with wide eyes. Without his Zanpakutō he was quite defenceless at the incoming cero and knew that he had only one option. Thankfully the power from the cero should block Grimmjow's senses from his Hollow reiatsu. He ripped on his mask and felt his Hollow reiatsu mix with his own and confidently raised both his hands in order to catch the attack. Once the blast made contact with his hands, Ichigo grinned confidently behind his mask when he felt how much his own strength dwarfed it. Pumping his Hollow reiatsu through his hands into the cero, it caused a massive explosion and unfortunately for Ichigo, he underestimated how powerful the explosion would be. The aftermath of the explosion resulted in Ichigo's mask being broken off completely and his Bankai coat having a few slashes in it. He had used up all of his Hollow reiatsu to survive the explosion and to heal all the major wounds that had come from the explosion.

When Grimmjow saw the result of his attack his eyes widened furiously when he saw that all he had suffered were some rips in his Bankai coat. He snarled furiously, "His Bankai coat must be some kind of armour. It protects him a lot better than I thought!"

Ichigo frowned as he thought of a way to get his Zanpakutō back. He was regretting not learning some of the Hadō spells from Tessai. When this was all over he would need to learn some so that this wouldn't happen again. Worst of all is that now he had no Hollow powers to fall back on and it caused his confidence to shake slightly. For this whole fight he had his Hollow mask to fall back on and now he no longer had that safety guard. He had the Hadō #1 to fall back on but he had to work out a way to use it effectively.

"_Or you could just call me back."_ Tensa said to him telepathically with annoyance clear in his voice.

Ichigo frowned hearing Tensa's voice. His voice was certainly much fainter than whenever he had his Zanpakutō in hand. Reaching deep inside of himself he called out, _'Come to me Tensa Zangetsu!'_

Grimmjow's eyes widened when the sword in his hand gave a mighty tug and it slipped out of his hand but he was able to grab onto the chain to stop it going back to Ichigo. "Nice try Kurosaki!"

Ichigo could still feel his Zanpakutō's desire to come back to his hand, to be wielded by his wielder, to cut down his wielder's enemy. Ichigo closed his eyes desperately trying to mentally pull his Zanpakutō back to him and then something happened when Grimmjow wouldn't give way. A familiar feeling began to well up within him, a faint whisper from Tensa Zangetsu rung through his mind and suddenly his mind sharpened. His focus sharpened to a single point. The chain called to him.

"Getsuga..." Ichigo breathed as he took in the feel and began to exert it.

Grimmjow's eyes widened when the chain in his hand suddenly extended and wrapped around his entire arm. The Espada could do nothing but stare at the chain for a moment in complete bewilderment and he didn't notice Ichigo suddenly vanish.

He did notice however when Ichigo suddenly appeared right in above him and the Shinigami lightly grabbed his Zanpakutō's blade and a faint blue aura surrounded it.

"... Tenchēn!" Ichigo muttered and that faint blue aura travelled down the chain until it reached the tip before exploding. The explosion of blue reiatsu completely enveloped Grimmjow and Ichigo pulled his Zanpakutō out of Grimmjow's loosened grip. The chain reverted back to its original size as Ichigo spun Tensa's handle and re attached the chain to his glove. The vulnerability that had awakened in him was suddenly expelled after reuniting with his Zanpakutō.

"Damn you Kurosaki!" Grimmjow growled as the remnants of Ichigo's latest technique faded away revealing a badly wounded panther-like Arrancar. His entire left arm was burnt but still usable and he had several other burns on his body.

Ichigo steadied his Zanpakutō with a determined look in his eye along with that light shade of blue dancing in them. Grimmjow snarled furiously at the look, "... What... The hell is with your eyes... They always look like that... The look always says that you're stronger than me."

He shot towards Ichigo and roared furiously, "IT REALLY FUCKING PISSES ME OFF!"

Ichigo calmly raised his Zanpakutō to block the claws from Grimmjow's right hand that were intended to pierce his chest and as Ichigo skidded back along the sand with a wide grin on his face. It was reminiscent of his Inner Hollow's.

"Hah... What pisses you off...? When a mere human looks at you like you're an equal...?" Ichigo tainted him and Grimmjow furiously tried to stab him in the stomach with his left hand. Unfortunately for the Espada, his stab was much slower due to the heavy burns that covered it and Ichigo was able to easily grab onto his wrist with his left hand.

"THAT HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH IT!" Grimmjow shouted and suddenly broke away from Ichigo and hit him with a powerful kick to the face. Ichigo was sent flying high into the air as Grimmjow continued in more controlled voice, "Whether you're a human, Shinigami or Arrancar... Everyone who underestimates me with eyes like that... Will be smashed to pieces!"

He shot high into the sky just as Ichigo prepared to defend himself but the Shinigami was surprised when Grimmjow suddenly went past him to a higher position in the sky. Ichigo spun around so that he was facing his opponent and held Tensa Zangetsu defensively. He just knew somehow that this was the final moment in their battle.

"And I'm gonna start with you Kurosaki!" Grimmjow shouted and unleashed his strongest attack. His claws began to glow blue and with a slashing motion, each claw became a long, sharp blade composed of reishi.

"What is that?" Ichigo muttered in slight awe.

"Desgarrón!" Grimmjow shouted with a maniacal grin, "This is my strongest technique!"

He slashed his injured left arm towards Ichigo and unleashed the 5 claws of reiatsu towards Ichigo and the Shinigami raised his Zanpakutō in his defensive position.

"Getsuga Tentate!" Ichigo shouted as he activated his reiatsu shield however Grimmjow grinned seeing it and adjusted his fingers. Doing this, he managed to aim each claw slash to target the outer part of the shield and when they collided with it, they broke through. Ichigo's eyes widened when he saw his shield crumble and he managed to get his blade up to block two of the claw slashes but three managed to slice his body. Two slashed through each of his shoulders and another on the left side his hip.

With a furious swipe, Tensa Zangetsu broke the other two claw slashes and with his free hand he grasped his bleeding hip. Both of this shoulders ached and he longed to be able to use his high speed regeneration but he knew that it would be some time before his Hollow reserves would fill back up. He knew that it wouldn't take long especially since he was in Hueco Mundo but for now he had to fight through the pain.

Grimmjow followed up by throwing the reiatsu claws on his right hand towards Ichigo and this time the human hybrid was able to position sword to block them with the length of his Zanpakutō. He fell backwards as he tried desperately to ward off the attack but found it hard with his injuries.

"You're finished Kurosaki!" Grimmjow shouted triumphantly, "You will lose to me! I... I am the King!"

Ichigo continued to fall as Grimmjow's taunts rang in his ears and despite how angry he was he still couldn't budge off the attack. However at the back of his mind he felt a severe drop in Renji's reiatsu. Despite his increased training, sensing reiatsu was still a difficult task for him however he had somehow been completely in tune with sensing his friend's reiatsu.

He had been selfish and wanted to test his strength that he had forgotten why he had gotten these powers in the first place. He fought to protect his family, his friends and for everyone who couldn't protect themselves. Instead of defeating Grimmjow instantly he was now on the back foot and Renji's reiatsu was decreasing sharply.

He had to win. He must win. His friends needed him. He couldn't afford to lose.

With a fierce shove, he brought his Zanpakutō up enabling him to disengage the reiatsu claws and duck underneath them. He stabbed Tensa Zangetsu into the middle claw and with a ferocious swipe; he smashed it to pieces as the others sailed past him harmlessly.

"You aren't the only one... Who wants to win, you know..." Ichigo informed him.

"Huh?"

"You said it yourself... That I'll... Be your first target... It's the same for me!" Ichigo shouted and shot towards Grimmjow, his Tensa Zangetsu coated in blue Reiatsu.

Grimmjow quickly summoned another set of Reiatsu claws in his right hand and fired them towards Ichigo.

Ichigo raised his blade at the incoming attack and shouted, "Just like you said... I came here to fight! I came here to defeat you Grimmjow!"

When he got close to the attack, he brought his sword down and shouted, "Getsuga Tensho!"

The large crescent wave of blue Reiatsu erupted from Ichigo's Zanpakutō and demolished Grimmjow's Desgarrón. The panther like Arrancar could only look shocked that his greatest attack was completely enveloped and destroyed by Kurosaki's Getsuga.

Ichigo burst through the explosion that his attack had caused and continued shouting, "I will defeat you! I will defeat Ulquiorra! I will defeat Aizen! And then I will take Rukia, Chad, Ishida, Renji, and Inoue... I'll bring them all back! You're just one person... I cannot be beaten by you Grimmjow!"

Grimmjow could do nothing but stare at Ichigo in shock as the tin black blade pierced his stomach. His shocked look soon faded away as he began to black out from the pain as Ichigo removed the Zanpakutō from his stomach and a gush of blood leaked out of the wound. He began to fall towards the ground but Ichigo quickly grabbed his right arm and gently lowered him to the ground.

As Ichigo laid him onto the ground he began to walk away savouring the influx of Hollow reiatsu in the air and began to gather it in hope that he can replenish his depleted Hollow reiatsu. He glanced back at the immobile Grimmjow, he knew he should purify him now, but the respect that he had gained for the Espada prevented him from doing it. Perhaps one day they would stand as friends like he and Renji were now.

Speaking of Renji, he had to hurry as he didn't know how long he would be able to last.

**You like it, Review it. Don't like it, don't read it. See areas that need improvement, Review it and tell me.**

**I know this chapter is much shorter than all of my others and to be honest I didn't start this chapter until last Sunday. The good news is that I've now got a regular updating schedule and I can promise you all that this story will be update at least once a month. There will be no more long delays like the last one.**

**I said in the last chapter that I didn't plan on Ichigo being a Quincy but after the last few chapters some things have really begun to make sense. Even in this chapter, there is a hint on Ichigo being a Quincy and I am sure you will all spot it.**

**HOWEVER**

**I am offering all of you readers to decide on whether or not you want Ichigo to be part Quincy or for me to just do what I had planned. I will put a poll up on my profile so please vote.**

**Apologies but the next update will not be out due til the 26th of April because of my unexpected trip to Scotland.  
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**Answering the Readers:**

_**Q:**__ So the one Ichigo use on Aizen is a weak one?_

_**A:**__ Yes, remember before he used it, his mask only had half its power remaining and also one of his sleeves was torn right off. So he didn't have all of his Reiatsu to work with._

_**C:**__ I wonder if Starrk or Harribel's group will doublecross Aizen eventually._

_**R:**__ I have plans for both Starrk and Harribel._

_**C: **__My thoughts on the Fullbring Arc? Yes it was half-assed, but it was never meant to be a long or action-packed arc. It was simply a bridge arc, made by Kubo-sensei to avoid the typical shônen cliché of a character suddenly regaining their lost abilities. Y'know, the ones where it's like, "Oh, I'm in a random life-threatening encounter! Holy shit, my powers are back! *kicks every bad guy ever's ass*" I mean, he explained exactly what he was doing basically at the very beginning of the arc. Kûgo was half-assed as well, but all the Fullbringers have reappeared for the Thousand-Year Blood War Arc. So maybe we'll find out some more._

_**A:**__ Considering that we have seen Ginjo and the others training in Soul Society that means that they aren't finished with yet. I'm sure Ginjo has to have another reason for hating Soul Society other than the badge. It wasn't a terrible arc but you're correct, it was certainly just a bridge to this current arc._

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**Okay the Royal Guard are indeed interesting. I won't talk about them because we still know so little about them. I'm more interested in other events to be honest.**

**First of all the Unohana vs. Kenpachi fight, now while this fight while freaking awesome also confused me a bit. While the reader part of me hated the fact that Unohana died this way instead of a real battle but for her character it really was the perfect way for her to die. She died happy that Kenpachi had got his full power back.**

**Now Kenpachi is an interesting one. I absolutely loved the explanation on how he had sealed his own power and it explains so much about him. He was defeated by Shikai Ichigo but then easily took down Tōsen in Bankai. He then fought Nnoitra and we can assume that the Ichigo at full power at the point probably couldn't beat him and yet Kenpachi could. So now Kenpachi is probably the strongest in the Gotei 13 and now he is about to learn his Zanpakutō's name. Now I am excited!**

**Ichigo being kicked out of the Royal Palace after failing the Asauchi test and being told that he had to discover his roots. It was nice to see Renji achieve something that Ichigo couldn't. Poor Renji just seems to get beaten around a lot. **

**However now we are finally reading what I have longed to read. Isshin's past. **

**O! MY! GOD! He was Toshiro's and Matsumoto's captain, which is freaking awesome. I wonder if Matsumoto noticed him in Karakura town when Ichigo had learnt the FGT. However she was probably grieving over Gin to notice. **

**So Masaki is the last of the Kurosaki's and is being raised by the Ishida's. Also she was meant to marry Ryūken however we all know that doesn't happen. So in front of her aunt Masaki acts all cheery but in the privacy in her room we see that she really is just a sad woman that doesn't want to marry for duty or to keep the blood pure.**

**However the appearance of what I am assuming is a Vasto Lorde is what has taken most of my interest. Now we will finally get to see how strong a Vasto Lorde really is, one that hasn't become an Arrancar. Also the fact that it looks a lot like Ichigo when he was fully Hollowfied against Ulquiorra hasn't escaped me. This is really getting interesting. **

**From what I can guess, we see Masaki healing Isshin and she has a wound on her shoulder and Isshin asks her how she destroyed that thing. So for now I am assuming that she somehow kills it, probably with a sneak attack or something. So the simple explanation is that Masaki absorbed some of its reiatsu and it was transferred into Ichigo when he was conceived. **

**Of course Aizen is likely to be behind it all. **


	12. Ishida's New Technique

**Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach**

**For all those that have read the latest chapters of Bleach you are probably thinking that this story is finished and completely screwed up with the latest revelations. Well for a few minutes there I thought so to but amazingly I have come up with an excellent solution. So don't fear, this story will still be able to tie into canon while featuring my own AU elements. There is a teaser in my Spoiler Space for all those that are interested. **

**1.07.2013 - Update to Spoiler Space.**

**Chapter 12 – Ishida's New Technique**

Ichigo landed calmly back onto the sandy floor with Nel tuck safely under his arms before gently placing her on the ground. He used the peaceful moment to focus on sensing his friend's reiatsu and he knew that Rukia was close to where Ishida and Chad were. Inoue was with her but he had no idea just who the other two that were with them were. He dismissed it quickly, he knew they weren't Hollow and so that meant that Rukia trusted them. So he focused on locating the exact location that Renji was currently battling.

"I've got to go help Renji..." Ichigo muttered after feeling Renji's reiatsu declining.

"Wha... What about me?" Nel protested, "Are you gonna leave me here?!"

"Of course not." Ichigo told her calmly, "It's far more dangerous if you stayed here..."

He was cut off however as he sensed the opponent that he had just defeated stand behind him panting heavily. Ichigo spun around just in time to see Grimmjow's Resurrección dissipate back into his sealed form. His Zanpakutō had returned back to his right hand.

"Grimmjow..." Ichigo muttered frowning at the sight of the defeated warrior. He had no desire to continue fighting him in his current state.

"Hah... Like I'd lose... There's no... Way in hell..." Grimmjow told him painfully before summoning every ounce of strength left and shot towards Ichigo and shouted, "I'D EVER LOSE TO SOMEONE LIKE YOU!"

He charged towards Ichigo intending to cut him to ribbons but Ichigo calmly grabbed his wrist and prevented the Espada from finishing his attack.

"...Stop already Grimmjow... you've lost." Ichigo told him, "I don't know whether you're a king or not... but crushing those who piss you off... and being the king by yourself... what's the point of that? If you loathe me so much... I will fight you as much as you want... but let it go for now...!"

Grimmjow's eyes lowered and dulled for a moment before the spark in his eyes came back to life. With a sharp tug, Grimmjow wrenched his arm free and brought it down towards Ichigo while shouting, "Fuck you! I will not lose to you! I am the King!"

Unfortunately for the panther-like Arrancar his attack hit nothing but air as Ichigo avoided it with his shunpo and appeared behind him. Ichigo then followed up by smashing the back of Grimmjow's head with the pommel of Tensa Zangetsu.

Grimmjow crashed face first into the sand and lost consciousness due to the blow along with his injuries. Ichigo stared down at the fallen Espada for a moment before looking up at Nel and told her, "Let's go Nel. Renji needs us."

**Nnoitra vs. Ishida, Chad**

"You alright Sado-kun?" Ishida questioned hastily as he slid back through the sand just managing to dodge one of Nnoitra's scythes. Chad was wounded only a few metres away.

"I'm... okay." Chad grunted as he grasped the area between his neck and right shoulder in an attempt to stem the bleeding from the cut he had received. Nnoitra had gone up to a level that he just couldn't fight against.

"What's wrong human trash?" Nnoitra called out mockingly while slowly approaching them. "Have you finally realised how futile your efforts are?"

'_I need to think of something fast.'_ Ishida thought, he had already tried using the Sprenger on Nnoitra again but the Espada had been prepared for it. He didn't allow him to set up the pentagon of Seele Schneider's making the attack useless.

Ishida scowled when he sensed Kurosaki finish his fight with Grimmjow and he did it with only his Shinigami powers. For most part anyway, there had been a flash of Kurosaki's Hollow powers but it had only been momentarily.

Despite the fact that he was almost staring death in the face, Ishida's thoughts were elsewhere. Bitterly he thought, _'Just how wide has the gap between our powers become Kurosaki? I'm the last Quincy. The pride of my fallen race all rests upon me and yet... my friend... my __**rival**__ keeps on growing in power at a much faster rate. How can I close the gap? I am the last remaining Quincy... I have to win!'_

"You shouldn't be spacing out when I'm about to kill you!" Nnoitra shouted swinging one of his scythe's downwards at Ishida.

"Watch out Ishida!" Chad shouted hurriedly.

Ishida's eyes widened and snapped out of his thoughts. How could he have been so stupid to allow himself to be distracted by his own doubts in a middle of a life and death battle? He couldn't dodge in time and the scythe slashed down his right shoulder straight down to his right side of his waist.

**Karakura Hospital – During the time Ishida was travelling through the Garganta**

Inside the Karakura town Hospital, inside a basement that was deep underground stood a tall, fit, fair-skinned man with blue eyes and white hair. He wore thin and frameless glasses and a plain grey suit with a light blue shirt and a tie adorned with Quincy crosses. He was currently looking down at the folded note that his son left behind on a ledge.

"Yo... looks like he ran away... Ishida..." A familiar voice said from behind him causing Ishida Ryūken to turn around towards the intruder.

"How did you get in here, Kurosaki?" Ryūken questioned annoyed.

Standing in the doorway was Kurosaki Isshin in his Shinigami form with his hands in his pockets. He wore the standard Shinigami Shihakushō, along with a tattered captain's haori, worn like a sash and fastened over his left shoulder.

Isshin's eyes widened, "Oh? What the... That's the first time that you have called me that isn't it? What's with the change of heart?"

"Answer my question..." Ryūken retorted ignoring Isshin's hurt expression, "How did you..." It was then he noticed what Isshin was wearing, "That form... your powers returned then?"

"I guess... It looks good on me though doesn't it?" Isshin grinned.

"It makes me want to puke." Ryūken said disgusted.

"Well thank you very much." Isshin chuckled good naturedly before asking him, "Are you going to read that letter.

Ryūken turned his back on Isshin and lent on against the ledge. He lit a cigarette and replied, "I already know what it says without reading it. Uryu is so predictable."

"So you let him go on purpose." Isshin acknowledged.

"Why are you so positive of that?" Ryūken retorted glancing back at him. "I've trained him up and made him stronger. Since Uryu is a mixed blood for him to unlock certain talents as you well know, can only be access through training. I've done all I can, it's up to him now whether he awakens his true abilities or to die."

Isshin sat against the wall and commented, "What a shitty dad."

"I'm just trying to one up you." Ryūken snapped.

Isshin smiled sadly, "Yeah... I get it."

**Hueco Mundo – Current Time**

Nnoitra's bloodthirsty grin at slashing his enemy suddenly vanished when no blood gushed from the wound. It wasn't just Nnoitra that was shocked; both Ishida and Chad were flabbergasted at the sight. Gaining his composure quickly, Ishida jumped back using his Hirenkyaku and gained some valuable distance from the Espada.

'_What just happened?'_ Ishida thought incredulously, _'Why wasn't I cut?'_

With his mind focused on his predicament, he finally felt a slight change in his body. He quickly pulled off the lingering material leaving the right side of his body and arm naked and to his shocked he saw blue vein's of reiatsu covering his skin where he had been struck.

"What is that?" Chad muttered seeing the strange markings on Ishida.

"Human trash what the hell did you do?!" Nnoitra snarled. How could his attack have not penetrated the human's skin? He was fragile scum, cutting him should have been a breeze.

'_What is this?'_ Ishida thought but thanks to his skilful reishi control he was quickly able to determine just how this power came about. _'I see. I've somehow instinctively made reishi flow through my blood stream to harden my skin making it hard for me to be cut. The real question is how was I able to do this? I've never heard of a technique like this before...'_

He focused on the reishi that flowed through his system and discovered that the reishi was only flowing through one system. Taking that reishi he had gathered, he moved it into the other pathway and then he summoned his Heilig Bogen and fired a normally powerful arrow at Nnoitra. The blue veins had travelled down his left arm to his hand where he formed the arrow.

To Nnoitra's shock, when he blocked it with one of his scythes, the force sent him skidding back through the sand for a few metres. Worse of all, a large crack had appeared in the scythe.

'_What the hell just happened?'_ Nnoitra thought furiously_, 'Earlier I was batting those away with ease and now I'm being forced back and my scythe is cracked...'_

'_I see...'_ Ishida thought, he didn't know what this new ability was but he believed that he understood how it worked, _'When I focus the reishi through one pathway into my blood vessels then I can increase my defence or attack. However it seems that I can only choose one at a time which is risky if I screw up. I would rather not use this unless I have no choice; I need to train with it first. Still I need to hit him with one clean hit, one clean hit and I should win this!'_

With a quick burst of Hirenkyaku, Ishida appeared next to Chad and whispered, "Sado-kun I need you to bring up as much sand as possible to distract him."

Chad nodded and punched the ground fiercely with his devil arm and the force sent a load of sand into the air surrounding Nnoitra. With a smirk, using Hirenkyaku, Ishida appeared a few metres behind Nnoitra thanks to his superior sensing abilities and charged his most powerful arrow thanks to this new ability of his.

Just as he fired it though and large yellow of beam suddenly shot out of the cloud of sand straight at the arrow and engulfed the Quincy arrow. Ishida quickly dodged the beam of reiatsu and he narrowed his eyes at the sight of his opponent once the sand had cleared. Nnoitra was crouching on one knee with his right index finger in the sand and his tongue sticking out in the direction Ishida previously stood. Ishida quickly glanced down to see a trail of yellow reiatsu connected to his feet and it connected with Nnoitra's right index finger.

'_He used that to sense where I was.'_ Ishida thought. _'He is like Kurosaki somewhat. A large power but little reiatsu sensing skills, although I have to admit that Kurosaki is improving in that area. So to compensate for his lack of reiatsu skills, he has a technique that can lock onto someone's reiatsu.'_

"You cannot beat me!" Nnoitra shouted standing back up. "I don't know how you got this power up but it doesn't matter! I am the strongest Espada and I've grown sick of playing with you!"

With a swipe of one of his scythes, Nnoitra launched a large wave of sand into the air blocking him from view however Ishida could still sense his opponent's reiatsu. The Quincy's widened suddenly when a scythe shot out of the sand straight at him and Ishida just managed to dodge it when his body suddenly stiffened.

'_I can't move...' _Ishida realised, _'Damn it, I shouldn't have overused something that I didn't quite fully understand!'_

"You're finished!" Nnoitra shouted victoriously appearing in front of Ishida and raised three of his arms which still had scythes, "You've failed human! Die!"

"Tsugi no mai, Hakuren!"

A large avalanche of ice suddenly enveloped a shocked Nnoitra and Ishida glanced to his right to see Rukia pointing her snow white Zanpakutō straight at the frozen Nnoitra.

"Sado-kun!" A familiar voice rang in Chad's ears as he struggled to get back up to continue the fight and suddenly an orange oval shield wrapped around him. To his surprise there stood Inoue before him and she begun healing his wounds.

"Inoue... How did you get here?" Chad gasped as his wounds began to heal.

"Kuchiki-san, Miyako-san and Shiba-san brought me here." Inoue answered calmly as she focused on healing Chad's wounds.

"Who...?" Chad muttered confused before he noticed the two Shinigami standing a few metres away from Rukia.

"I'll explain later... But don't worry. They are on our side." Inoue smiled at her tall friend.

"Kuchiki what are you doing here?!" Ishida asked startled before mentally groaning at the sight of two other Shinigami, "And who are they?!"

"They're friends." Rukia told him shortly, they didn't have time for this. They had to defeat this guy quickly and go help Renji and Ichigo. "We need to work together to beat this guy."

The wall of ice from Rukia's Hakuren suddenly shattered revealing an annoyed Nnoitra and the Espada commented angrily, "Now I've got to deal with some Shinigami pests."

Just above Nnoitra's hip on each side of his torso two arms suddenly burst out and each materialised another scythe. With a quick flick of his wrist from his only remaining free hand, the scythe that he had previously thrown flew into his hand.

"Time to die Shinigami! Humans!"

"Hadō #33: Sōkatsui!" Rukia shouted and fired a blue ball of reiatsu at Nnoitra but the Espada calmly blocked it with one of his scythes. Rukia mentally grinned when she saw that it was the one that had a large crack in it.

"Was that supposed to do something?" Nnoitra asked her mockingly.

Rukia didn't reply and instead kept on firing several more Sōkatsui's at the crack on the scythe while Nnoitra uninterestedly just blocked them with it.

"You pitiful Shinigami... What are you trying to accomplish?!" Nnoitra said annoyed calmly deflecting the Sōkatsui's.

Suddenly Nnoitra's scythe broke in half when the 6th blue ball of reiatsu hit much to his shock before Rukia used that distracted moment to launch into one of her signature attacks.

"Some no mai, Tsukishiro!"

A white circle appeared underneath Nnoitra before he was enveloped in a large column of ice. Rukia quickly brushed away a bit of sweat that fell from her forehead and took in a deep breath.

"Good work Rukia." Sode no Shirayuki informed her wielder, "You have successfully depleted your reiatsu back to their original levels."

"If you two are Shinigami... then why haven't you both got Zanpakutō's?" Ishida questioned the two Shinigami suspiciously as a healed Chad and Inoue approached them.

Kaien and Miyako glanced at each other and then at Inoue and Rukia as they all remembered why they couldn't use their Zanpakutō's.

**Flashback**

_Rukia and Inoue waited patiently for Kaien and Miyako to come out of their meditation and when they did, Rukia could tell from the scowl on Kaien's face that it wasn't good news._

"_It didn't work?" Rukia asked them despite already knowing the answer._

_Kaien shook his head and replied, "No, I was able to communicate with my Zanpakutō but I no longer have an Asauchi to imprint my Zanpakutō's abilities."_

"_It's the same for me." Miyako agreed with her husband, "When I encountered the Hollow that possessed me. I grabbed onto one of its tentacles and my Zanpakutō shattered."_

_Rukia looked away as the memory of Kaien's Zanpakutō shattering when he grabbed the Hollow's tentacle._

"_What is an Asauchi?" Inoue asked them curiously._

"_All Shinigami are given unnamed Zanpakutō upon first entering the academy." Rukia explained to her friend. "We must spend every waking moment with our Zanpakutō, and as we progress in our training, we slowly and carefully imprint the essence of our soul into the Asauchi. This is how we guide and mold our own Zanpakutō. Without our Asauchi we have no way to channel our Zanpakutō's power."_

"_No Shinigami in history has ever wielded the power of their Zanpakutō's without the use of an Asauchi." Miyako added._

"_Well at least up until we 'died' anyway." Kaien said sheepishly. "But I doubt that has changed since then."_

_Inoue frowned, an unusual look on her beautiful cheerful face, "Kurosaki-kun didn't use one of these Asauchi's."_

"_What do you mean?" Rukia asked hastily, "Knowing Urahara, I would of have thought he would have supplied Ichigo with one."_

_Inoue shook her head, "No Kurosaki-kun told us all about how he got his powers and he said that he summoned his Zanpakutō from the broken handle of the katana he wielded using your powers."_

"_That doesn't make any sense." Rukia said thoughtfully, "I've never heard of that happening."_

"_What did you mean by him wielding your powers?" Kaien asked sternly._

_Rukia looked away sheepishly, "I may have leant him my powers for a time."_

_Before Kaien could either retort or tease her about breaking the rules, something that a Kuchiki wasn't supposed to do, Miyako cut him off with a question of her own. "Who is this 'Ichigo'?"_

"_He is a friend... I'll explain more when we have time but we need to go help Ishida and Sado." Rukia told them, "Miyako-dono could you carry Inoue? We need to get there quickly and Inoue doesn't have any high speed movement."_

_Miyako nodded and after a brief hesitation from Inoue, the human girl timidly allowed Miyako to give her a piggy back and the group vanished in a burst of speed._

"_It's been like over 40 years since I've used shunpo and I'm still amazing at it!" Kaien shouted with delighted arrogance as the group approached the location of Ishida and Chad._

'_Ichigo... Just how were you able to draw upon your Zanpakutō without an Asauchi? And why does it worry me so much?' Rukia thought worriedly before glancing at Kaien and a lighter thought appeared in her mind, 'I so have to be there when Kaien-dono and Ichigo meet. That is going to be interesting.'_

"_Rukia... There is something important you should know." __Sode no Shirayuki suddenly spoke up with Rukia, __"I'm sure you have noticed the increase of your reiatsu."_

"_I have..." Rukia thought back, "But I don't understand how this happened. It's taking all I've got to keep it under control."_

"_Don't worry I am assisting you there."__ Sode no Shirayuki informed her, __"Apparently when Ichigo gave you some of his power to free you from Homura and Shizuku's control and unintentionally gave you a portion of his reiatsu. It had been sealed away until you broke it during your previous battle against Aaroniero. So when you reach the battlefield, make sure you expend enough reiatsu back to their regular levels or you will be a liability in this fight."_

"_I know." Rukia replied, if she survived this war then she would have to continue her training on reiatsu control otherwise she wouldn't be able to wield her powers effectively._

**End of Flashback**

"It's a long story, suffice to say we are unable to at the moment." Kaien answered the Quincy, "For now all we can do is back you all up with Kido."

Ishida nodded before he was suddenly encased in an orange oval shield and with a glance to his left he saw that it was Inoue. The Quincy breathed a sigh of relief as he felt the pain and pressure from the over use of his new technique began to fade away.

"Did you really think that this stupid slab of ice could stop me?!"

The group of humans and Shinigami suddenly spun around when the column of ice shattered revealing an unharmed Nnoitra.

The Espada glared down at his broken scythe and threw it away. It was of no use to him anymore.

"I'm going to kill you first Shinigami!" Nnoitra snarled pointing straight at Rukia with his spare hand, "I will make you suffer for breaking my scythe!" He then pointed at the other fighter that had been a thorn in his side, the one with the bow, "Then I'm going to remove each of your limbs and laugh when you beg for death!"

Ishida just smirked at the threat which further enraged Nnoitra. The Espada hadn't been humiliated like this in a long time, not since the time _that_ woman was among the Espada.

"Kuchiki, Sado-kun and you other Shinigami..." Ishida addressed the group when his wounds healed and Inoue released her healing technique. "Can you all hold him off for a few minutes? I've got an idea."

**Renji's Location**

How did he find himself in this situation?

That was the thought running through Abarai Renji's head as he stood trapped inside a large building with an Espada standing only 20 metres away from him. Sweat and blood fell heavily down Renji's face while his opponent stood before him completely unharmed.

The Espada had shoulder-length pink hair with bangs on the right side of his forehead and two thin lines with no hair on the left side of his head, and amber eyes. The remains of his Hollow mask his rectangular-framed glasses and his clothing wasn't like the ones that the Espada usually wore. He wore a long shirt that covered his entire torso up to the top of his neck. He had three stripes on his uniform, each starting at his collar with one running to the left side of his chest, one to the right side of his chest, and one down the middle. He wore the regular pants with a slight length taken away he covering his hands were white gloves. He was the 8th Espada, Granz Szayelaporro**.**

Not long ago he and Rukia had been running along the corridor before Dondo suddenly appeared behind them screaming for Nel which scared the crap out of him. Unfortunately only moments after his appearance they all fell down into a trap and he and Rukia had been separated. Worst of all, he had appeared in another corridor with Dondo landing on top of him and the terrified screech from Pesche ringing in his ears. Of all the places he had to land it just hand to be where another one of those strange Hollow's was.

Embarrassingly he fell into another trap a few moments later along with the two Hollow and appeared in this large chamber where Szayelaporro laid waiting for him. The two Hollow landed on top of him much to his displeasure before finding a place to hide while he immediately unleashed his Bankai in hopes of ending the fight quickly. Just before he was about to his the Espada with his Bankai it suddenly vanished and his Zanpakutō returned to its sealed state.

Szayelaporro informed him that his older brother was Ilforte, the Arrancar that he and Rukia had killed back in Karakura town and that he spied on the fight. He learnt that Szayelaporro had planted Memory Spirit Bugs on Ilforte which gave him all the information about his Bankai and that while he was in this specially made room, he couldn't use Bankai.

Desperation set in when Szayelaporro informed him that thanks to Aaroniero all the Espada were linked and that before the 9th Espada's death, he had taken one of his companions with him. He didn't need the name to know who Szayelaporro was talking about; he had sensed the drop in Rukia's reiatsu. But his desperation and anger along with his Shikai wasn't enough to breach Szayelaporro's defences and now the 6th Division Fukutaicho found himself out of options. No Bankai, his Shikai was ineffective and Kido was out of the question, he was atrocious at it.

"Pfft! What a bore!" Szayelaporro exclaimed.

"... What was that...?" Renji muttered exhausted.

"I said that this is a bore. You can't even understand words anymore?" Szayelaporro retorted, "Your Zanpakutō is a power type. There is nothing else to it. My theory to how your transformation worked was proven quite easily, as well. This might sound a bit rude to you, but honestly, I really don't want to look at you anymore. Let's finish this."

The 8th Espada clicked his fingers and out of the wall crawled through many Hollow similar to the ones that Ichigo, Chad and Ishida had encountered when they first arrived in Hueco Mundo.

"Fracción... As a testament to our superiority, we Espada are allowed to choose any Números from #11 and below to become our subordinates. They are called Fracción. Some will only choose one while others have mountains of soldiers under their command. My Fracción are a bit unusual however, they were all once Hollow's that I had modified and then transformed into Arrancar through Aizen-sama. Well I suppose telling you all this is a waste. The point is... That I don't need to soil my hands in order to kill such an unworthy being such as yourself... Now here comes the finale!"

Before the Hollow could attack Renji, a blue crescent wave of reiatsu sliced into the largest hollow that had been directly behind Szayelaporro and purified it.

"What the hell Renji?" Ichigo said with Tensa Zangetsu resting against his shoulder and Nel tucked under his free arm. He stood in the middle of a large gap in the wall looking down at the injured Renji with a cocky grin. "This is the second time I've come and saved your ass."

**Like it Review it. Don't like it then don't read it.**

**So yes Ishida has unlocked Blut. Since he is a mixed blood that means that he can only learn it through training and since Inoue restored his powers before he trained with Ryūken, he was able to begin learning it. Of course, it had to come out during battle for dramatic effect.**

**Kaien and Miyako both aren't able to use their Zanpakutō's so how will they be able to help fight against Nnoitra and what is Ishida's plan?**

**Rukia has concerns about Ichigo's powers which will be explored later.**

**The Nnoitra fight will be wrapped up in the next fight and possibly the Szayelaporro vs. Ichigo and Renji. Sorry for skimming over the Renji and Szayelaporro fight but that is one of the fights that I wasn't fond of in the manga.**

**Answering the Readers:**

_**C:**__ I really don't like Ichigo and Rukia being together, but I will admit that this is probably one of the best Bleach fics I have ever read. The Growth rate you have all the characters on is almost flawless, and I like how you keep introducing things that make Ichigo get stronger, without it being a major power boost out of nowhere like the movie about hell. I will continue to read so long as you keep up the good writing, even if I must tolerate IchiRuki. I'll probably just replace a name in my head or something..._

_**R: **__Thank you I appreciate the compliments towards my story. As for the IchiRuki, I understand. I can only read IchiHime fics if the story is written well. I can promise you that romance will not be a big deal in this story as it is an area that I, to put it bluntly, suck at writing so it won't have a major part of the story. This story wills primary focus on Ichigo growing in power along with his friends and fighting enemies that threaten them_

_**C: **__Please don't make Ichigo part Quincy, I mean, what the hell? He's already a human/Shinigami/hollow who, despite having his powers for only a few months is already able to defeat beings who have been training for decades if not centuries. Now that's all fine, that's how he is in the show, that's just Ichigo, but now you want him to suddenly become Quincy too? Why not just give him Inoue's powers, or the Hōgyoku or I know, make him soul king! Now I'm not trying to flame, I actually really like where you've taken this story and it's a really good fic, I'm merely expressing my humble opinion on making Ichigo a god, that is, please don't._

_**R:**__ I can understand where you're coming from. Now I can't say much without giving away any spoilers but I have made Ichigo part Quincy. He won't have the powers that the likes of Ishida have though. At the core, Ichigo is a Shinigami and so his Hollow, Fullbring and Quincy, it all has to revolve around his Shinigami powers. Ichigo will never possess the powers of the Hōgyoku or Inoue's and he won't become the Soul King. Ruling over everyone isn't something that Ichigo will ever do._

_**C: **__Aizen is always behind it all; freakin' god complex that he has probably adds to his need for control, anyway I'm favouring this story because it caught my interest. Kudos to you for writing such a good plot._

_**R:**__ Tell me about it. Aizen seems to just somehow plan out every single possibility until he lost to Ichigo. For someone that had been watching and developing Ichigo since the moment Ichigo was born, he sure did miscalculate how strong Ichigo could become. I hope I can keep you interested in this story._

_**Q:**__ Tier Harribel is a Vasto Lorde, you know that right?_

_**A: **__Yes I do, but that we saw her in her Vasto Lorde form in the anime and not the manga. So what I meant is that this is the true pure Vasto Lorde without becoming an Arrancar in the manga. Unfortunately this wasn't true as Aizen revealed what that Hollow truly was._

_**C: **__I am absolutely in love with this story right now. You managed to do what the canon couldn't and that was to establish a great relationship and connection with Ichigo and Zangetsu.  
>So, because they are really close now, I'm guessing Ichigo's Asauchi test will be different. I guess we'll cross that bridge when we come to it.<br>Is the reason why Ichigo feels so safe on Bankai because, like Tensa said when they were battling for the Saigo no Getsuga Tensho, that what he wants above all else is to protect Ichigo? Does Ichigo even have a hint that that is Tensa's true desire?_

_**R:**__ If Ichigo needs to go through the Asauchi test then it will be very similar for the sheer fact that Ichigo doesn't have an Asauchi. He may be able to seal up his Zanpakutō in this fic, but he still doesn't have the traditional Asauchi. As for his Bankai, Ichigo still doesn't know what Tensa's true motive is; it isn't something that he has thought about. I won't get into the full reason why Ichigo feels most safe in his Bankai quite yet, but one of the reasons is because he is at full power, not including his Hollowfication. _

_**C: **__Also, will this have an Ulquihime pairing with Ulquiorra surviving and joining Ichigo's side this time. It would be so awesome to see 4 Espada (Grimmy, Ulqui, Starrk and Hallibel trying and fighting Aizen) and even more when Ichigo becomes a complete badass when he trains in the Dangai.  
>I hope you have him use everything in his arsenal, including his final hollow form, in his fight with Aizen before even considering Mugetsu.<br>One last question, will Masaki's soul make an appearance and reunion with her family? Maybe Sora as well so he can see how strong Orihime has become._

_**R:**__ I haven't got a planned pairing for Inoue quite yet. As for Ulquiorra, have I stated that he would survive? Only I know what Ulquiorra's fate is going to be and I'm keeping it to myself. I won't reveal any details about the Ichigo vs. Aizen confrontation but I can guarantee, Ichigo won't be completely afraid of him like in canon until he did the Dangai training. I have no plans to bring Sora back. As for Masaki, I believe that in canon, Ichigo will meet her again. I think it is inevitable. Will he meet her again in this story? Maybe, no promises though._

_**C: **__This story is one of the best bleach ones I've seen really enjoying how you're dealing with character progression and using the filler arcs, and it nice to see some differences from cannon there like Hisagi making up with Kazeshini and the Visored's being put down about not training when there fighting someone equal to the captain commander and expecting to make the kill. Can you please show us how the Visored's, Ichigo and co matches up with captain or Hollow rankings? Oh and like how you've removed Inoue from the equation now never liked stories where she becomes obsessive over Ichigo as well as Renji over Rukia._

_**R:**__ Yeah I will post something like that once I've completed the Winter War. I'm glad you're enjoying the story._

_**C:**__ He gave GREAT character development for Stark and Lillinette and then he kills them like THAT? After so much development they should've kept them._

_**R:**__ Yeah I wasn't happy with the way Stark went down as I enjoyed his character. Sure he got beaten by one of the strongest captains, but considering he was the __Primera, I thought that he would have done a lot more. He won't be so easily pushed aside in this fic._

_**C:**__Your chapters are awesome as always. I'm really enjoying that Orihime wasn't there. She always seems to be in the way of Ichigo's awesome battles and adding pointless drama._

_**R:**__ Thanks. Don't get me started on Orihime in the Arrancar arc, she just pissed me off. Hopefully I can keep her in character yet make her less annoying._

_**Q:**__ So you're saying that maybe Ichigo is older than he remembers? Or his hollow or something like that?_

_**A:**__ That Hollow is the Hollow inside of Ichigo that was passed down to him from Masaki. So the structure of Ichigo's Hollowfication is very similar to it with his own unique parts such as the stripes on the mask._

_**Q:**__ In the manga the guy mentioned he knows where all the Asauchi's he makes have gone, but I don't reckon Ichigo ever got an Asauchi from him so... where'd his Zanpakutō come from? Certainly not him and thus repairing it would have to come from somewhere else also._

_**A:**__ Yes Ichigo doesn't have an Asauchi for a simple reason; he isn't a Shinigami. Isshin strictly said that he wasn't a Shinigami and nor was he a human. So I am assuming that Ichigo is a Quincy. How Ichigo is able to use Shinigami powers, I won't tell you my theory as I am going to incorporate it into this story and I don't want to give away spoilers._

_**Q:**__ So in this Ichigo is just about as strong (or comparable in strength) as canon Ichigo (using his mask with the extended time limit against Grimmjow) with this story using just his Bankai?_

_**A:**__ In terms of reiatsu, strength and speed, then Ichigo's Bankai is equivalent to canon Ichigo against Grimmjow. However if the two fought, my Ichigo would win because he has more variety to his moves with both the Getsuga Tentate and Getsuga Tenchēn plus a couple of Kido spells._

_**Q:**__ I really like your story, and I'm interested in how the final confrontation with Aizen will play out. I was disappointed because Ichigo was dominating him and then he threw away his Soul Reaper abilities to do the Final Getsuga Tensho which I felt wasn't yet necessary in their fight._

_**A:**__ Thanks I'm glad you're enjoying it. As for the final confrontation with Aizen, yes it will be different. As for Ichigo throwing away his powers, I've always thought that despite Ichigo knowing that he was stronger, he couldn't allow Aizen to keep evolving thanks to the Hōgyoku. I mean with a simple slash, it forced Aizen to transform. So Ichigo hit him with everything before Aizen could power up to a level higher than his own._

_**Q:**__ What I find most interesting is the name of the chapters that have been explaining Ichigo's past; "Everything but the Rain." Doesn't Zangetsu make it a point that he hates it when it rains?_

_**A: **__Yeah he does. Also this Hollow seemed to only come out during the rain. It really links up the connection between Zangetsu and Hollow Ichigo. Zangetsu hates the rain and this Hollow likes it. Links up quite nicely to my first chapter doesn't it ;)_

_**C:**__ Alright, first things first: Your story is fucking awesome. Consider this the opposite of a flame. You have good grammar, good punctuation, there are only a few flaws in tense agreement, and that's negligible in comparison to some of the stuff you have to put up with on this site._

_Not only that, but your story is interesting, original, and fucking BADASS. I cannot wait to see what Ichigo will do, and how his powers will continue to grow. I do request one minor thing though - Please use Ichigo's demon/Viking mask. I was very sad to see that come and go so quickly, considering it was so amazing. I cannot wait to see the next chapter. Keep up the good work!_

_**R:**__ Thanks I really appreciate your comments. As for Ichigo's new mask, trust me, he will use it a lot more than in canon._

_**Q:**__ Why did you have Dordoni say "Leave the chocolate here." in his final thoughts?_

_**A:**__ I got that quote from the manga and it is also the title of one of the chapters. It basically implies that Ichigo had to leave his sweetness behind since he showed Dordoni mercy. He believes Ichigo has to become ruthless if he is to survive against the Espada._

_**Q:**__ A quick question, will Ichigo lose Zangetsu in this story...?_

_**A:**__ If I answered that it would ruin the story._

_**Q:**__ Will Ulquiorra and Grimmjow turn good? I think that Ulquiorra and Grimmjow, along with Stark and Hallibel, are the most likely to betray Aizen. So in this story will that happen?_

_**A:**__ Well Grimmjow is only unconscious, so he is still alive. Stark and Hallibel I have hinted that they will do more than they did in canon. As for Ulquiorra, I will keep that to myself for now. I wouldn't want to ruin the suspense._

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**Masaki – First of all, I've read and heard about people comparing her to Inoue and/or Rukia and believe that Ichigo will be paired with them because of it. Now I find that bullshit. From what I took from her character is that she is a lot more like Ichigo. Well I guess technically Ichigo is more like her. I have to admit I didn't think that I would like her character, but in fact I love it. She isn't the strongest character and she isn't the best fighter. However she is brave and resourceful and that move of allowing the Hollow to bite her and then shoot it in the head with a small bow and arrow was BADASS! Also her reaction to Isshin after he had saved her from her Hollowfication was hilarious.**

**Isshin – While he tends to be very goofy, we also saw the side of him that Ichigo inherited. Giving up his Shinigami powers and admitting that while he would have regrets when he stopped being a Shinigami, it didn't stop him from saving the person that saved him. I reckon that is a pretty Ichigo thing to do. So I'm assuming that Isshin has learnt the Final Getsuga Tensho, so he knows what it will cost but he hasn't had to use it. So Engetsu is a fire element Zanpakutō... That's interesting... So is his Getsuga fire based or is just a genetic attack?**

**Juha Bach – You son of a bitch! Taking away all of the 'impure' Quincy's powers to help get his own back. So Masaki could have easily defeated Grand Fisher but because of Juha Bach she died instead. Have to say Kubo that is a very nice twist. I like it!**

**Ryūken – Had to feel for the man. He cared about what Masaki wanted but at the same time was concerned with the fate of the Quincy's. With Juha Back being able to take away the powers of all impure or mixed blood Quincy's that means that he can take away Uryu's. Perhaps knowing that is the reason why Ryūken wants his son to live a normal life since his powers could be taken at any moment.**

**Aizen – All I have to say about him was how epic was his face when he wanted to see what would happen when Whitey attacked Masaki?**

**Whitey – So it was created from the Soul of a Shinigami and could pass on the Hollowfication purpose. So when it bit Masaki, it made her Hollowfy. Have to admit that Hollow was pretty cool. **

**Chan-Ichi (LOL) – I love that new nickname for Ichigo. Learning about what and who he really was has had a huge impact on his character. He has a resolve about him that I haven't seen since he invaded Soul Society. When he finally gained his own Asauchi, I loved that fact that he didn't react at all when it had a Hollow Mask. Knowing that he got his Hollowfication from his mother had enabled him to accept that part of his soul instead of fearing it. Now when Chan-Ichi gained his true Zanpakutō does anyone else agree with how badass Ichigo looks without sleeves? **

**Zangetsu – Now we get to the major revelations except the truth about Masaki's death. So old man Zangetsu was actually the form of Juha Bach/Yhwach from 1,000 years ago and he was the representation of Ichigo's Quincy powers. Meanwhile Hollow Ichigo is the fusion of Ichigo's Hollowfication from White and his own Zanpakutō. Kubo certainly dropped enough hints, with Hollow Ichigo always being the one to either show Ichigo how to wield Zangetsu or save his life. So Old Man Zangetsu hadn't wanted Ichigo to become a Shinigami because the real version of him would eventually kill him, I can't blame him for that. However now he is stepping back and allowing Ichigo to use his full power. I take it by fusing with Hollow Ichigo back in the Deicide arc was him allowing Ichigo to become a Shinigami. **

**Zangetsu (Blades) – So Chan-Ichi decided that both the Hollow and Old Man were Zangetsu and altered the final form of his Zanpakutō. So now he is a dual wielder and I have to admit it certainly is like Ichigo to forgive and continue to accept Old Man Zangetsu's help. The sword that his Hollow represents is by far the best looking Shikai he has had. I reckon it looks awesome. The small sword representing Old Man Zangetsu I am a bit iffy about but I guess I will wait to see how he uses it in a fight before judging it. Seems like the big sword has a slot that perhaps the smaller sword can fit into and I am predicting that he will be back to wielding a single sword in Bankai. **

**Ichigo's Resolve – So Ichigo is no longer going to ask Zangetsu for help, or telling him to get out of the way or asking to fight together. He will fight alone since Zangetsu is him. So Ichigo is finally at one with himself, so now we get to see Ichigo kick some ass!**

**Update 1.07.2013 - I have just realized something about Ichigo's Shikai and Bankai that helps connect with the revelation that his powers are from his Hollow. Shinigami have three releases (With the exception of Kenpachi due to his uncontrollable reiatsu) and they are, the sealed state, shikai and bankai. Ichigo on the other hand just has the two which is like the Arrancar usually have (Again with the exception of Ulquiorra). All shinigami's bankai have some kind of large effect, sometimes their bankai is in the form of a large object, (Zabimaru, Senbonzakura etc) while others have large elemental effects (Zanka no Tachi, Daiguren Hyōrinmaru, Kōkō Gonryō Rikyū). Ichigo's on the other hand simply condenses his shikai into a small blade, condensing his reiatsu and his clothing changes. This is similar to the Arrancar's ****Resurrección's as they change the form of the Arrancar into a more Hollow like form.  
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**Shinigami = 3 Zanpakuto states; Sealed, Shikai and Bankai. Bankai's have large affects either to form or area.**

**Arrancar = 2 Zanpakuto states; Sealed, **Resurrección**. **Resurrección** changes only the Arrancar's body. Has no area affects like Bankai's do.**

**Ichigo = 2 Zanpakuto states; Shikai, Bankai. Bankai's form is more similar to a **Resurrección** than a Shinigami's Bankai.**

**Here is a teaser of a scene that is still a few chapters away;**

"_**What's with that look Ichigo?"**__ Hichigo asked the former King. __**"Tell me Ichigo... Have you ever wondered just what you are?"**_

"_What do you mean?" Ichigo questioned slightly intimidated from the Viking like mask his Inner Hollow now wore. _

"_**What are you Ichigo?"**__ Hichigo repeated, __**"I thought I was your dark side... The other half wanting to take over and wield Zangetsu... But I was wrong. Thanks to the hole in your chest from Ulquiorra... The influx of Hollow reiatsu has awoken my memories and I now know just who I am!"**_

"_And just who are you!?" Ichigo retorted raising his Tensa Zangetsu._

_Hichigo grinned behind his mask and in a burst of speed that Ichigo couldn't follow; he appeared right in front of him and grabbed his face with his left hand. _

"_**I AM ZANGETSU!"**__ Hichigo shouted and threw Ichigo into a building._


	13. New Poll

Hey, I'm sorry that this isn't a chapter update but I am just telling you all I am putting up a new poll for this story.

You see I have recently been going over my previous chapters, especially my first 10 chapters and to suffice to say I think that quality is quite ordinary. So I am going to be going through a massive re-write of the first 10 chapters. I've literally already wrote the entire first chapter again but I am wondering on how I should upload these new chapters.

There will be parts in the first 10 chapters that I will change some I will remove completely and i will add in completely new scenes.

So that is what this new poll is about.

**Poll: How should I lay out my re-written chapters?**

1. Should I simply replace the old chapters? The downside to this is that some chapters that are 10,000 words long will become like 15,000 – 20,000

2. Should I post them as a new story signalling a complete re-write of this story? The downside to this is that I won't be updating this story anymore.

So I would appreciate it if you would all take the short time to either leave a review or to vote in the poll it would be very helpful.

Here is a very small teaser of one of the changes that will occur. It takes place when Ulquiorra and Yammy invade Karakura town for the first time.

**Teaser:**

This couldn't be happening... It had to be a dream... A nightmare...

Ichigo's grip tightened around Tensa Zangetsu. It was his fault. His stubbornness was responsible for this. If he had gone all out then this wouldn't have happened.

Black reiatsu began to envelop his body which gained the interest of Ulquiorra judging by the fact he was a bit tenser.

Ulquiorra... His name... The sight of him... The sound of his voice... Ichigo hated everything about him. It was an irrational, blinding hatred. A hatred that he hadn't felt since he fought with Grand Fisher the first time... No that was incorrect. This hatred was much stronger. He had always blamed himself for his ka-chan's death because he had no explanation for her death. He had been a powerless naive 9 year old boy and he understood now that he couldn't have protected his ka-chan.

This was different... He had the power to protect those he cared about and... He had failed!

Ulquiorra had killed his friend... And now he would pay the ultimate price!

**End of Teaser**

I wonder who he killed?


	14. AN: New Story!

**Okay I have decided to go with the rewrite despite the slightly more popular vote for simply replacing chapters. However the changes that I have began making are going to be huge and there will be a few more arcs put into the story before Ichigo and co head into Hueco Mundo.**

**I'm sorry for all those that are frustrated by this, but I intend to make this re-write far superior to this one. So if you check it out and bear with me I will very much appreciate it. I'll keep this story up until I catch up with the re-write.**

**The new story is titled; Resolve to Fight and Protect. It will be up in a few hours.  
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